Seven
by thelittleactor
Summary: Klaine, from Blaine's perspective, throughout their romance. There's a darker side to Blaine's past, and we see just how that affects Blaine and his family - and his relationship with Kurt.
1. Chapter 1

There was something about him that made him stand out to me.

What was supposed to be just another day at school, complete with mundane lessons, bizarre lunchtime antics with the guys and another Warbler rehearsal (with Wes' gavel abuse) turned into something much more.

The Warblers were supposed to put on a little show for the other Dalton guys. It was something we did often. We weren't treated like royalty – that was left for the football team, or the fake-Quidditch team – but we were certainly respected around school. Nobody picked on us for being Warblers. They congratulated us after performances and competitions, even when we didn't win. The Warblers fit into the school like any other sporting team did. We belonged at Dalton.

I was just walking past the staircase on my way to the Warbler's impromptu show when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see this beautiful person just standing there, nervously asking for help. He said he was new to Dalton, and anyone knew to Dalton probably wouldn't understand the way the Warblers just fit in with the school. The beautiful boy just looked at me and I could see the anxiousness in his eyes. I led him to where the Warbler's little 'performance' would be held: in our so called 'choir room' that still resembles the sitting room/library of some really old, rich guy.

As I showed the new boy where to stand, I just dropped my bag and joined the Warblers to sing. 'Teenage Dream' was something we'd been working on for a while now, and we all knew the harmonies and phrases well enough to rehearse in front of an audience. We knew it would be a crowd pleaser: anything Top 40 usually gets the attention of our fellow students. The council had already elected me to be the lead vocalist for this number, and it was an honour in itself. But this performance was different.

I found myself unable to take my eyes off the new boy, whose name was Kurt, as I found out later. There was just something, _something_ about him that made him stand out to me. I couldn't pinpoint it. When I took my place with the Warblers, I looked at him and saw him looking at me. His beautiful skin just brightened the room, it seemed. His beautiful eyes had me lost for a moment before remembering that we were performing, and I actually needed to concentrate to sing.

The moment we started performing, I knew Kurt was in shock. His previous question – in relation to our glee club being 'cool' – made me think that maybe he was into music at his previous school. He seemed to enjoy the song, but I don't know if he noticed how I was unconsciously singing to _him._

The moment I met him, I felt something. I can't explain it any more than that. There was a feeling. Deep inside in my stomach, I felt butterflies. I felt warmth in my heart.

And so, when singing Katy Perry's lyrics, I found myself singing them with a hidden meaning for the first time. It was as if my brain knew how I felt before the rest of me cottoned on. There was emotion evident in every single syllable I sung. I couldn't believe that within five minutes of meeting someone, I could feel this way. I knew Kurt had made a difference in my life, and so I sung with all my heart and hoped, wished and prayed that he would maybe feel just a fraction of what I felt.


	2. Chapter 2

When I found out Kurt was coming to Dalton, I was over the moon. Beyond ecstatic. I could finally spend more time with the boy who'd taken every dapper thought in my head and turned it into a wildly inappropriate sex-riot.

But the reasons behind Kurt's transfer are just too horrible for words. He'd been driven out of McKinley by this bully, Karofsky, who had not only shoved Kurt into lockers, tormented him and made him feel unsafe, but had attacked Kurt in the locker rooms in a forced kiss. Karofsky's closet homosexuality explains some of his behaviour, but it certainly doesn't explain his horrific methods of releasing his anger. I don't really care if that idiot has been having trouble with his sexuality. You don't threaten someone's life. You don't make their life miserable to the point where they don't feel safe in any aspect of their school life. You just don't do it.

Kurt had put his faith in me. He shared this deeply unnerving part of his world and I felt like I had to help him. It hurt me beyond measure to see him in that much emotional pain. I wanted Kurt to have courage more than anything. I wanted him to know that just because someone doesn't like who you are, it doesn't make you any less important in the grand scheme of things.

Kurt needed Courage.

I tried showing him that all he needed was courage, but with Karofsky getting worse, I don't blame Kurt at all for nearing a breakdown.

Coming to Dalton would be a positive experience for Kurt. Sure, it was an all-boys school so he'd have plenty of guys to look at – a plus for any gay guy here – but our zero-tolerance, no-bullying policy would give Kurt the protection he needed.

I know Dalton's not the real world. I know there are people out there that don't like people like us because we're gay. But you shouldn't have to deal with it every day on an ongoing basis. And it shouldn't get to the point where death threats are made.

When Kurt actually came to Dalton, I did the best I could to make him feel welcome. I wanted him to see that at Dalton, he was important. In the Warblers, he'd be an asset to the team. In school, he'd be one of the best students on record. And even if he wasn't going to board like most of us do, he'd be welcome anytime in the common rooms and in our dorms. He'd be welcome to sit on our sofas, eat our food (within reason) and watch our TVs. I did all I could to show him this. And I think he actually began to believe it, within his first few days at Dalton.


	3. Chapter 3

After Kurt had transferred to Dalton and had been in the Warblers for quite some time, we began preparing for Regionals. We knew we'd be up against New Directions, Kurt's former glee club from McKinley. But that didn't seem to faze Kurt too much.

"Hey Kurt," I asked after a Warblers rehearsal one Monday afternoon, "Are you cool with going up against your friends at Regionals?"

"Of course," he responded with a small smile. "It's not personal at all. They know I love them and that I want them to do their best. But secretly, I think I want us to win."

There was something in Kurt's eyes that made me think he wasn't telling the entire truth. We kept talking about Regionals on our way to our lockers – which were conveniently right next to each other. When we'd reached our lockers, I thought it was best to dig a little deeper. I didn't want Kurt to have any negative feelings whatsoever.

"Kurt," I began, sliding my books into my locker and shutting it gently, "I know how connected you were to New Directions. You don't just lose that."

"Maybe it wasn't always the perfect, dysfunctional family I thought it was..." Kurt stopped organising his books and looked at me sadly.

I could see the pain Kurt was trying desperately to keep hidden. I put my hand on his shoulder gently and asked, "You loved them, didn't you? Do you miss them?"

Kurt shut his locker and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his blazer. I noticed that he didn't push my hand away, nor did he shrug it off. He was warming up to me even more than he had been before.

"...I did love them. But I never really got my chance to showcase the kind of performer I can be. For the most part... we just stood there singing backup harmonies while Rachel and Finn took centre stage."

Kurt looked down and I could see he was struggling with something. I gripped his shoulder a little tighter.

"But even though you weren't always appreciated... you still miss them, don't you?"

"...yes. Because they became my first real friends and I don't think I could just leave that and forget it... In the end," Kurt started sniffing and tears were falling harder now, "they were all I had. Even Puckerman, who had once been the guy ordering bullies to toss me into the dumpster, stood up to Karofsky. He had my back for a while there."

I took my hand off of his shoulder and just looked at him. His head was still bowed to the floor, obviously not wanting anyone to see how he was feeling.

"Look at me," I said softly, "We've got your back here. And while we may not be as close to you as your McKinley friends are, we'd be more than happy to be, if you'd like us too."

Kurt looked up slowly and was just looking straight into my eyes. If only he'd known how many butterflies were going through my stomach as he did something so simple. If only he'd known how his rosy cheeks and tear-stained complexion made me want to cry with him.

"Okay."

I couldn't help myself. I couldn't stand to see Kurt in that much pain. All I wanted to do was give him comfort and make him feel better in any way possible. The first thing I thought to do was to hug him.

I wrapped my arms around him in a swift movement that if you'd blinked, you would have missed. I think I had surprised Kurt, because I felt him take a small step back. I felt uncertainty, so I was about take a step back and step out of the hug when I felt Kurt's head fall onto my shoulder. I could feel his tears dropping onto my blazer, and I could feel his arms wrap themselves tightly around my back. He was holding on strongly – more so than I was expecting. So I returned the tight hug, and squeezed him gently. We held onto each other for ages, it seemed.

When the hug broke and we both took a step back, we just looked at each other. I saw that Kurt had stopped crying. His eyes were still red and puffy, and his cheeks were still damp, but he was no longer shedding tears. That made me smile.

And so the bell went, signalling the end of the school day. This meant Kurt would be driving back to Lima while I stayed back in the dorms with the other boarders. It was the worst time of the day – no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't help but feel sad when we had to say goodbye every afternoon.

"Thank you, Blaine... For everything."

"Any time."

"...I better start driving home. Are we good for coffee before school tomorrow?"

Kurt's warm smile gave me no choice. I had to say yes. And even if he hadn't of smiled, I'm pretty sure I would've said yes anyway.

"Of course. I'll see you there. Seven?"

Kurt took his bag out of his locker, slid it onto his shoulder with minimal effort, smiled at me as he shut his locker and said, "Seven."


	4. Chapter 4

I woke at six that morning, knowing that I wanted to impress Kurt. I wanted to make him feel special. I wanted him to feel loved and appreciated.

It only takes me about half an hour to get ready, including the daily 'fighting the other boarders for the one shower with hot water' debacle. I beat Jeff to the good shower, and closed the door to the stall. His cursing was echoing through the bathroom, and I could hear the other guys in the line chuckling too. Competition is ever present in Dalton, even when it comes to showers.

I showered faster than I'd ever showered in my life and sprinted back to the room I shared with Jeff, where he was still groggily getting himself out of bed. I'd already changed into my uniform and fixed my hair into the 'Dalton-appropriate' style by the time he even realised I'd come back into the room.

"Why are you... why are you rushing, dude?"

"I'm going to coffee before school man, so don't wait up for me. 'kay?"

"...Blaine?"

I stopped on my way to the door and turned to look at Jeff.

"Yeah?"

"Have fun with Kurt," he said with a sly smile and a not-so-subtle wink. He knew what buttons to push.

I could feel my cheeks getting red. "Yeah, thanks. I will," I said quickly, before promptly exiting the room and racing to the other side of the campus where the coffee shop was. I knew Kurt liked a Grande non-fat mocha, so I ordered it for him, ordered myself a medium drip and bought us a bagel each, since Kurt said he's never tried a Dalton bagel.

I paid for the order, took it all on a tray and even picked up spoons and those little sachets of sugar from the counter. I remembered lids as well – just in case I could convince Kurt to walk with me around campus before school started at eight. The school was actually really beautiful during the winter.

I didn't even touch my drink or bagel until I saw Kurt walk in. He brushed the snow off of his scarf and proceeded to look around the store to try and find me. I stood up excitedly and called his name just a little louder than necessary. It didn't really matter, there were only three other guys in the store.

Kurt walked over with a broad grin and sat down, careful that he wasn't creasing his blazer. The way he worried about things like that was another trait I found myself fawning over. I couldn't believe how much he'd had an effect on me. But I couldn't just sit there gawking at him like I was. I had to say something.

"Hey, glad you made it. I ordered you a Grande non-fat mocha and bought us both bagels. I hope that's okay."

I sounded nervous. I really did. I think I was shaking a little, too. I had no idea how Kurt was feeling, or even if he noticed any of it. He did, however, begin smiling even more than he was before.

"Blaine Anderson, you memorised my order?" he asked with a sly grin.

"...I may have..."

I wasn't sure if that counted as flirting. Maybe it did. I don't know. I couldn't help myself feeling shy, though. I didn't want to be over the top and make him think I was a stalker or something.

"...That's rather cute. Memorising my order. Very cute."

Kurt was now looking straight at me, as if his eyes were searching mine for answers to the questions he couldn't say out loud. In that moment, I couldn't help but think: does he know? Does he know how I truly feel?

I had to find out somehow, but I couldn't just ask outright.

"Define 'cute'" I said, equally as sly as Kurt had been.

Kurt took his eyes away from mine and turned his attention to the packet of Splenda I'd thought to get him. He busied himself with the sweetener and with stirring his drink, leaving me in suspense. Part of me thought he knew what he was doing. I thought that maybe he knew he was leaving me hanging. He was doing it on purpose. And when Kurt finally looked up at me again with another sly smile, I was pretty sure that he knew.

"Well. Put it this way. How many friends of yours have memorised your order?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"Only Jeff. He knows my order because when I'm too lazy to get drinks, he'll take my money and get it for me."

"Exactly. Your roommate knows. And I'd expect him to, quite frankly. When you practically live with someone that usually happens. Because you're _close._"

I noticed that Kurt had put great emphasis on the word 'close'.

"So you think that... by me remembering your order, _we're _close?" Dammit. I was going to get some answers out of Kurt. I needed to know what he was feeling, because if he didn't feel the same way and I said something flirty, it could ruin things. It could ruin the amazing friendship we have. And I'd lose Kurt.

Kurt stopped smiling in that sly way of his and sighed. He put his hand on top of the free hand I had resting on the table and looked at me meaningfully.

"You know we're close. We've been close from the minute you took me under your wing and gave me courage."

That's when I saw Kurt's real smile come alive again. It's when he smiles really wide and his eyes smile too. His beautiful eyes. They're my weakness. They'll be the death of me one day, I swear.

"I only gave you what you deserve," I said softly, returning the smile.

Kurt squeezed my hand. "No," he said. "You gave me much more."


	5. Chapter 5

I'd convinced Kurt that we should walk around campus after we'd finished our bagels. So there we were, walking by the snow-covered buildings that were so grand, you could have mistaken them for royal castles or something. Snow had just started to fall, but only the lightest snowflakes were falling. The scenery around us was rather romantic. The situation, however, was incredibly nerve-wracking.

We were walking in silence for quite some time. It was the perfect setting for a grand gesture. I had a voice in my head telling me that I needed to stop Kurt, take his hand and confess my undying love for him.

Wait a minute. Love? Did I love him?

As we walked in silence, I thought about it carefully. Every now and then, I'd sneak a look at him. He was so beautiful. His rosy cheeks, perfect complexion, beautiful blue eyes, long, stunning eyelashes and perfectly styled hair just took my breath away. When he started speaking, I found myself hanging onto every word. _Maybe I do love him... maybe I do..._

"Blaine?" Kurt said quietly as he turned to look at me, still walking at the same slow pace we'd been walking at the whole time.

"Yes?"

"Have you... have you ever been in a relationship?"

This question caught me off guard. Kurt looked really nervous, almost painfully so. There were a million questions running through my mind, wondering why Kurt would ask me a question like this. But I couldn't even think about it. I had to answer Kurt. I had to be honest.

"Yes. One."

I had to avoid looking at Kurt – I didn't want him to think that I was still holding onto my past relationship with Josh. Especially considering that Josh had graduated last year and I hadn't seen him since. I didn't want anything to do with him and I really didn't want to even think about him.

"Can you... can you tell me about it?" Kurt looked at me so intensely I could feel his eyes searching for mine. I looked at him hesitantly.

"May I ask why you'd like to know? It's just that... It's not an entirely pleasant part of my past."

"Well, I've never been in a relationship before... I guess I just want to know... If it's possible."

I couldn't _not _tell Kurt about Josh. Kurt had shared everything with me. I knew more about him than he knew about me. That wasn't entirely fair, and I knew it. I had to tell him.

"His name was Josh," I started, slowly approaching a bench and gesturing Kurt to sit down.  
>"He was a year older than me. He was in the Warblers for a brief period of time. That's where I met him. We met, we laughed in rehearsals when Wes went power mad, we sang together. It was almost as if we were actors in a rom-com."<p>

I found it hard to continue. Hell, I found it hard to even start. Thinking of Josh wasn't painful in the heart-breaking way. It was painful in the "I-So-Desperately-Want-To-Punch-Someone" kind of way.

"...one afternoon, after the Warblers' rehearsal, he stopped me as I was leaving. He waited for the room to clear out and he told me that he was gay. He knew I was gay – I'd already told everyone when I met them – so he took that opportunity to ask me out.  
>I thought it would be just a date. Just like teenagers do. Just casual dates, phone calls, cryptic text messages. I hadn't figured out whether or not I really liked him. I'd never really thought of him in <em>that <em>way before, but there was nothing to suggest that I wouldn't like him like that.  
>I accepted the offer. We started dating, but right from the start it was a serious relationship. For me, it was my first relationship and right after the first date we were holding hands, kissing and making out in hallways when no one was looking.<br>I didn't really know how to act. At that point, I still wasn't sure that I liked him that way. That's what I thought the dates were for. But I wasn't really involved in the relationship, in terms of deciding where we were."

Kurt just looked at me thoughtfully. I could see he wanted me to continue but he didn't want to overstep the friendship boundary by demanding too much from me.

"Things kept moving forward pretty fast. Everyone knew we were an item, and people teased me about it all the time. Jeff was the worst. But we'd only gotten together around four months prior to his graduation.  
>He quit the Warblers, suddenly. I had no idea why. He stopped showing up to rehearsals, yet he'd be at the door when I'd finished rehearsing and he'd take me by the hand and force me into his car. We'd go out on dates almost every night. I don't know whether he was clingy or possessive, but I do know that it was moving way too fast for me to keep up with.<br>I tried mentioning it to him. I tried saying, "Can we just try taking it slow?" But he never heard me.  
>The day of his graduation came, and truth be told, I had been avoiding him slightly. I didn't want to have to spend every minute with him. I wanted my space and <em>still <em>I hadn't made a decision on how I felt about him.  
>The Warblers were to perform during the ceremony. There we were, up on stage, and I remember looking out into the audience and trying to see where Josh was. In the middle of the performance, I saw him in the corner of my eye, hiding behind one of the partitions, making out with one of the other Dalton seniors."<p>

"Oh, Blaine..." Kurt looked saddened by what I'd just told him, and he took his right arm and put it around me, shuffling in closer.

"It's okay. I mean, I wasn't that emotionally attached to him, but it was still that feeling of betrayal. You know?  
>Anyway, after he graduated, he saw me before he left for the party. He wanted to kiss me; he tried putting his arms around me. Instead, I just asked him straight out, "So who was that guy you were making out with behind the partition during our performance?"<br>He stopped trying to make moves on me. He looked at me and said, "I couldn't help it. Mike gives me what you won't."  
>I just looked at him in disbelief. And then he said, "But don't worry, we're still okay. I still love you."<br>That made me so angry. Because he had been saying he loved me from day one. He'd been lying to my face. I'd never said "I love you" to him because I knew that one day, I would actually find meaning to those words and I'd regret saying it to him. But he threw the words around carelessly. Like they didn't really mean anything.  
>All I could say was, "You don't love me. And that's okay."<br>I walked away from him, knowing that I'd be able to live again. I was free to be myself."

Kurt started patting my back slowly and gently. It seemed like he knew how hard it was for me to open up about something like that.

"Blaine... I'm sorry; I shouldn't have asked you to tell me that story."

I looked at him with a half-smile, knowing that what I was about to say came straight from the heart.

"It's okay. I needed to tell somebody. And... I'm glad that somebody is you."

Kurt smiled at me warmly, and it felt like he was pulling me closer. I moved my arm around to his back and returned the half-hug.

"I'm always here for you, Blaine Anderson. Don't you ever forget that. You helped me through some of my darkest days. You gave me courage. And I'll always be here to do the same for you."

I didn't have to say anything. I just turned to Kurt, smiled warmly and he knew.


	6. Chapter 6

Kurt and I had to go our separate ways to our classes, but we'd made plans to meet up for lunch with the rest of the Warblers. Truth be told, I didn't want to deal with anyone else. I wanted to spend more time with Kurt and find some way to connect with him. I wanted him to know how I felt.

I spent most of Chemistry running through several scenarios through my mind. They were mixed: sometimes, I'd tell Kurt how I felt and he'd run away. Other times he'd run into my open arms and we'd be happy forever. The worst scenario, though, was where someone else got to Kurt first and _they _lived happily ever after.

"Anderson! Pay attention!" Mr Hughes had noticed me daydreaming. Damn it. I had to spend the rest of the lesson answering every single question as punishment. I hated it, but then again, I didn't really care. So contradictory, I know. But it all came down to one fact: the sooner the lesson finished, the sooner I got to see Kurt.

So I powered through my lessons until the bell signalling the start of lunch rung through the marble-tiled halls of Dalton.

I don't even remember how I got to my locker. I ran, I knew that, but I didn't think I could run that fast. Turns out, I could. And I did. And the teenager inside of me did a little victory dance and was looking around for someone to fist-bump.

I was furiously shoving my books into my locker and getting my things ready for my lessons after lunch when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Uhm, Blaine? Rushing for a reason?"

I turned around to see Kurt laughing at me, possibly because I looked like the biggest idiot on the planet rushing the way I was.

"Uhm... no?" I replied, as I could feel my cheeks getting redder by the second.

Kurt smiled at me and turned to put his things in his locker, saying, "I was running to my locker too, you know. I didn't want to be late for lunch either."

I stopped and looked at him. I didn't know how to interpret his words. Did that mean he was rushing to see _me?_

"Well... uhm... why was that?" I asked, voice cracking like a pre-pubescent twelve year-old.

Kurt closed his locker and winked at me.

"Because," he started, leaning in close, "...it's Tater Tot day."

He then moved backwards, smiling coyly, and headed towards the cafeteria.

_Damn that Hummel, _I thought. _What the hell is going on? IS HE TEASING ME?_

By the time I'd made it to the cafeteria, Kurt had already taken his food tray and was sitting comfortably with the Warblers. I noticed him watching me from the corner of my eye as I walked towards the lunch ladies. _Two can play at this game, _I thought.

I asked the lunch ladies for extra Tater Tots, and they smiled and piled them on my plate. They always did like me. "Thank you," I said gratefully, before moving towards the Warbler table.

"Hey there, Blaine. Caught up did you?" Kurt asked me with an amused look on his face as I sat down.

"Well, I did, but," I started, dropping my tray onto the table, "I asked the lunch ladies for extra Tots since you like them_ so _much."

I sat down next to him, having whispered that last part into his ear. Oh yeah. He knew what I was doing. He knew it was payback, and I could see it on his face.

"Well, aren't you just ever... so... sweet..." he replied with raised eyebrows.

Lunch went on, sadly without any more inside jokes. Wes thought it was necessary to bring his gavel to lunch, for some reason, so if anyone attempted a private conversation he broke it up pretty quickly. Even though we were forced to contribute to the Warblers Regionals Set List debate, I couldn't concentrate. Every time my arm accidentally bumped into Kurt's, or his arm accidentally touched mine, we'd look at each other for just a second. I had no idea what that meant. All I knew is that I couldn't stop thinking about Kurt Hummel. And when lunch ended, I took my books and sprinted off to class, knowing that the sooner I powered through the classes remaining, the sooner I'd be at Warblers rehearsal. Next to Kurt.


	7. Chapter 7

Warblers practice came around quicker than lunchtime did, thank goodness. It took all the restraint I had not to pounce on Kurt when he walked in and sat on the leather chaise next to me. He had no idea what he was doing to me, and he leant in to say hi, I could smell his lavender scented moisturiser.

"You smell nice," I said, without thinking.

It was like time stood still. _Did I really just tell Kurt he smelt nice? That's so crossing the friendship boundary! You idiot! _My inner self was cursing my outer self so much I swear I heard profanities from languages I'd never even heard of.

Kurt looked at me with a small smile and said, "Thanks," before turning away to face the Warblers council.

I was still cursing myself for being such an idiot. I tried to concentrate on the council, but I couldn't. So many thoughts were running through my mind. Why couldn't I control myself?

But not even a second after Kurt had said thanks, he placed his hand on my knee and squeezed it gently, before moving his hand back to where it laid on his lap.

He didn't even look at me when he did it.

Great. What the hell was I supposed to do from there?

I was so confused. I wondered if that was just a friendly gesture or if it was meant to be something more. I wondered what he'd do if I just took his hand and held it for the rest of the meeting.

But I knew I couldn't do that. And there were around 15 Warblers expecting me to get up and sing in just a few minutes. They would have seen me if I'd have done that.

So I just sat there, throughout the meeting, contributing where necessary, and hating that I had to get up and move away from Kurt to sing.

"Blaine, what song are you singing?" Wes asked, gavel still in hand.

"...I wanted to sing an acoustic version of Teenage Dream... just me and my guitar, and much slower. Almost as if it's a different song."

I felt Kurt's eyes on me as I said Teenage Dream. I hoped he'd know why I was singing that particular song.

I sat on the stool in the centre of the room and took my guitar. I was so nervous; I wanted this moment to be absolutely perfect. I wanted Kurt to see the hidden meaning in this song.

So I sat there, strumming away on my guitar and singing along slowly. I'd changed the tempo of the song, I'd transposed it down slightly and I basically changed the whole feel of the song. As I sang the last line of lyrics in the song, I looked directly at Kurt.

"...be my Teenage Dream, tonight."

I looked at him for several moments, smiling softly, before turning to face the other Warblers that were applauding quite loudly.

"That was great, Blaine!" David cheered loudly from behind the council's desk.

"Yeah! Why didn't you tell me you were doing that?" Jeff screeched before slapping me on the back.

"I don't know, I just kinda decided this morning," I replied, taking a quick glance at Kurt, who was still sitting in the exact same position, clapping like everyone else, though without looking at me directly.

After my performance, I didn't have an opportunity to see Kurt until after the Warblers rehearsal (damn Jeff stole my spot next to Kurt). I packed my guitar in its case and went to walk with Kurt upon being dismissed. He just looked at me with those damn beautiful eyes and those beautifully kissable lips _(and holy crap, did I fantasise about kissing him?_) and said, "Walk me to my car?"

I just nodded, and we walked silently until we escaped the loud halls and reached the student's parking lot.

"Blaine... your song was really good. Really, really good," Kurt said as we stood there next to his car.

"Thanks..."

"I have to ask... was there a reason you picked that song?"

I knew I had to respond, but I wasn't quite ready to reveal my feelings for Kurt just yet. So I decided to take a leaf out of Kurt's book, and I replied with a cryptic answer.

"It was a song that really... meant something for me."

It was then I just opened Kurt's car door, gesturing for him to hop in like a chauffeur would. He laughed at my gesture, and as he climbed in and shut the door, he wound the window down so he could say one last thing.

"Coffee, at seven."

He smiled the most beautiful smile, with his beautiful eyes smiling too, and reversed out of the carpark without saying another word.

_Damn it,_ I thought. _I really am in love with this boy._


	8. Chapter 8

I returned to the dorm I shared with Jeff, evidently way too happy for Jeff's liking. As soon as I opened the door, he began his usual 'let's give Blaine crap' routine.

"So Blaine... how's Kurt doing?"

That was odd. He'd never teased me about Kurt like _that _before.

"I don't know... what you mean..."

Jeff threw a pillow at me and laughed at me as I put my guitar down, walked around the little sofa and threw myself onto my unmade bed, exhausted.

"Dude. Seriously. What's going on? Teenage Dream? I'm not like the other guys. I _know _what happened when you first performed that song."

I moved my head slightly to face him as he sat on the sofa.

"What happened, Jeff? Do enlighten me."

"You met Kurt."

He said it so simply, without a sarcastic tone and without any hint of teasing. He said it softly, as if he knew exactly how I felt.

"...You know, don't you?"

"Yeah man. I do."

"...Who else knows?"

"Just me, I reckon. Not many of the other guys knew Kurt was there during our little gig. And most of the Warblers are still trying to plan "Operation Remove Wes' Gavel."

I snorted slightly, before quickly returning to the seriousness of the conversation Jeff and I were having. And it _was _a serious conversation. Because Kurt meant something to me. And Jeff, being my roommate, knew me well enough to know that this was the first time I'd felt something so deeply.

"Jeff... how do you know?" I asked, propping myself up on my pillow and playing with the edge of my bed linen.

"Blaine... this doesn't happen to you often. Or at all, really. I've known you long enough to figure out what you're feeling. We're close, man. You're like my brother. I _know _you. It was clear to me that when you were going for coffee, you weren't _just _going for coffee."

The room was silent for a moment before Jeff moved to the mini-bar fridge we have in our room and tossed a Coke and a chocolate bar at me.

"Thanks," I said sarcastically after the chocolate bar hit me square in the forehead.

"Sorry, bro, but that was awesome. It was a good shot."

"It's only a good shot if you hit your target, Jeff."

"...exactly."

I threw my pillow at him with as much force as I could muster, but I missed him, much to his amusement. He laughed for a bit before turning the conversation back to its original topic.

"How do you feel about him?"

"I... I can't explain it." I literally could not think of a word to sum up how I felt about Kurt. It was impossible. Even thinking of Kurt made me nervous, made me feel butterflies and made me feel nauseous at the same time.

"Try." Jeff just looked at me with his genuine, caring smile. I trusted him.

"Well... I get so excited to see him in the morning. Coffee at seven is the best part of my day. We talk a lot more during coffee. We... connect, on most levels. We learn more about each other.  
>When he laughs, it's like he brightens the whole atmosphere around us. He has this smile that make me think of puppies and kitties and My Little Pony's just because it reminds me of the carelessness of childhood... Whenever he talks about his past with the homophobes at McKinley, and he gets a little sad, I feel it so much worse because I really wish he'd never experienced that. I wish that I could have been there to stop it and I wish that I could protect him from every bad thing that will come his way.<br>And I have these secret scenarios in my head of a never-ending coffee date. We'll get our drinks, we'll sit in the cafe and we'll talk. And then we'll take our drinks and walk through the snowy, beautiful campus and we'll talk more. We'll learn more about one another, we'll connect even more so. And I can't help but think_, I want to stay like this forever_. All I want is for him to never let go when he gives me a hug to say goodbye. I want to smell his lavender scented moisturiser every freaking second of the day... He's beautiful. In every way."

Silence followed my little speech and I saw Jeff was taking everything in and thinking it all over. He made his way over to me and sat at the foot of my bed.

"You... you have never _ever _ spoken about anybody the way you've just spoken about Kurt. And... I can see the way you're happy when you're around him. I see it. You... you become someone else around him, Blaine. You become the happy, fun loving, wonderful Blaine I haven't seen in so long."

"...Is that a good thing?"

"Blaine. It's a very good thing... You can't let him go."

"How... how do I... how do I tell him?"

I was so nervous, anxious and excited at the same time. I was excited at the prospect of being with Kurt, holding onto him and spending more time with him.

"I don't know..." Jeff clapped my shoulder like any brother would do. "Just... tell him what you've just told me. And he'll know how you feel. He'll know _exactly _how you feel."

We didn't speak about it anymore than that, and I was grateful for Jeff's advice. I was grateful for him even choosing to talk about it with me. He was as straight as straight could be, and I knew he got uncomfortable when I talked about hot guys in movies or in TV shows. For him to listen to the reasons why I loved Kurt meant more than I could have imagined.

And that night, I skipped dinner, ignored my phone, and went to sleep, planning my confession to Kurt at seven the next morning.


	9. Chapter 9

I awoke at six the next day, a Saturday, to find Jeff awake and reading a book on the sofa.

"What are you doing awake at this ungodly hour?" I asked.

"Making sure you don't chicken out, dude."

And suddenly, I was grateful that Jeff was awake. I found myself thanking him in my mind a million times, though in retrospect that was most likely because I was distracting myself from what I had to do that morning.

"GET. IN. THE. SHOWER. NOW. BLAINE. ANDERSON."

"Yes, yes! I'm going!... Wait. You're not fighting me for the hot water this time?"

Jeff laughed at me. "No, man. You NEED to be clean and warm for Kurtie Bear to hug and cuddle you."

I shoved Jeff onto his bed before collecting my towel, toiletries and my regular clothes and heading towards the showers.

I'd showered and dropped my shower things back at my dorm room – where Jeff continued to sing his newly-composed "KURTIEBEAR CUDDLES" in a high-pitched, girlie voice – before racing to the coffee shop to buy everything and surprise Kurt like I'd done the day before.

I walked in, ordered our drinks and croissants this time, and sat down at the same table I was sitting at the day before.

I decided to text him to let him know that I was in the same place, since I didn't want to draw attention to myself again.

**To: Kurt Hummel**

**Sitting at the same table as yesterday, refusing to make birdcalls this morning. ;)**

I sent the text and within about a minute, I received a reply.

**From: Kurt Hummel**

**Good to hear. I'm sure Pavarotti will be glad too. :)**

No sooner had I looked at the text and smiled at Kurt's name when it appeared on my screen, Kurt had sat down opposite me and smiled that big, wide, beautiful smile of his.

"Croissants this morning? Someone's ambitious," he said, teasingly.

"Well, the weekend calls for a little celebration," I said simply, refusing to play the tease game.

"Honestly, Blaine, you've got to let me pay one of these days, I think I owe you a gazillion dollars."

"It's all good. It's fine."

"No, come on! I feel bad!"

I laughed at his pleading face and his puppy dog eyes. He could be such an actor when he wanted to be.

"Well, tell you what. Buy me a cookie after breakfast and we'll call it even?"

Kurt laughed at my idea, but accepted the fact that he wouldn't win any other way.

"Sure."

We both stirred our drinks and sipped in silence for a few minutes before we began to eat our croissants.

"This is really, really good," Kurt said while licking butter off of his lips.

I smiled at him as warmly as I could. "I'm glad you like it."

"Why aren't you- you already finished! Are you kidding me!"

"Nope! Finished. And it was GOOD." I mocked Kurt just a little bit, I'll admit. But it was fun to see the way he pretended to be offended, gently shoving my shoulder a bit in the pretence of anger.

Seeing Kurt laugh made me remember why I dressed in the best clothes I could and why I took extra care in taming my wild, curly hair. I knew I had to tell Kurt everything, otherwise I'd regret it. And Jeff was right, I had been happier since I'd been spending time with Kurt. I couldn't let this opportunity pass.

"So, Kurt... Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," he replies, taking a sip of his grande non-fat mocha.

"How would you feel if I said that... that I think of you differently now?"

Kurt stopped sipping his coffee and put it down on the table softly.

"Uhm. Depends. Define 'differently'."

This was the hard part that I knew I had to get through. I couldn't just stop. This was where it got really, really important.

"Well, I've been... seeing you in a different light for a while now. Actually, ever since I met you. I think... I think of you in a different way than you might think."

"...I think... I think I know what you might mean..."

"You do?"

"I'm not sure... keep going and I'll tell you if I do."

I chuckled at Kurt's rational thinking, but had to get back to business.

"Okay, Kurt. I'm just going to come out with it... I... I like you Kurt. I like the way you smell like lavender every day. I like the way you sing with the Warblers so passionately. I like the way your eyes light up when you smile at me and I like how... how whenever we're even just sitting next to each other without saying anything, I'm the happiest guy in the room just being near you. I love your smile, I love your laugh, and I love your beautiful blue eyes and your perfect skin. I love everything about you. And... that's what... I had to say..."

I had to look down at my coffee, because I was so nervous I didn't think I could have handled it if Kurt looked at me in disgust and turned me down. I was shaking so much, I felt the scalding coffee shaking in the cup, spilling over the sides and burning my hand. It hurt so much, but it still took me a second to realise what was going on.

I hadn't even noticed, but while I was cursing myself for shaking and spilling coffee on my hand, Kurt had raced to the counter, asked for some ice, and had brought it back for me. He tenderly took my hand and placed the icepack on top, soothing the pain.

He could have taken his hand away from mine after putting the icepack on, but instead he held both my hands and looked at me.

I looked straight into his eyes and saw warmth and brightness.

"Blaine Anderson, you have no idea how long I've waited for you to say that."

It took a minute for Kurt's words to process.I couldn't believe that he actually reacted the way he did. I was in shock. I couldn't say anything, and he seemed to understand, because he kept talking.

"I... I have felt something for you I've never felt before. It feels like something deeper than friendship. There's so much trust and faith in our friendship that I couldn't help but think: This boy knows more about me than I know about myself.  
>You... You opened me up to a world I never knew existed. A world of happiness. A world where I could be proud to be exactly who I am. You gave me courage. And nothing makes me happier than spending time with you."<p>

We sat there for a moment, with our hands still clasped together, just looking at each other. It seemed so cliché, but so perfect: gazing into one another's eyes after having confessed our true feelings. The silence got too much to bear. And I knew I'd regret it if I didn't take a step forward.

"Kurt Hummel. Would you like... would you like to go out with me?"

Kurt grinned at me, squeezed my hands and said, "Blaine Anderson, there's nothing else I'd rather do."


	10. Chapter 10

Kurt and I had to part, because he had to go back to Lima to see his family. I knew his stepbrother, Finn, and his dad, Burt, and his stepmother, Carole, had been trying to get him back for a weekend for a very long time. Even though they lived together, between school, Warblers and other Dalton activities, Kurt hadn't really had a chance to spend time with them. They'd been pestering him about it, and when I thought of it, I did steal most of Kurt's weekend time away from them. It was good for him to have a Blaine-less weekend, despite having driven from Lima to Dalton for our morning coffee date.

After walking Kurt to his car and assuring him that my hand was fine, and after he slipped a chocolate chip cookie into my hand when he was leaving, I returned to the dorm room to find Jeff still in his pyjamas, sitting on the sofa and texting someone furiously.

"Hey Jeff," I said nonchalantly, before casually lying back on my bed and hacking into the cookie Kurt had bought me to call it even.

Jeff immediately looked up from his phone and began pestering me.

"HOW DID IT GO? TELL ME EVERYTHING!"

"Wow, Jeff, you're crossing into psycho-obsession-land, here."

"Shut up! Tell me!"

"Well, I bought the coffees and croissants-"

"You remembered his coffee order?" Jeff interjected.

"Yeah, I've remembered it from the first day he mentioned it."

"OH KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME!"

I glared at Jeff and refused to say anything else until he apologised.

"Okay. Sorry dude. Continue."

"Okay. So... I had everything ready for when he came in. He sat down, we laughed a bit and then I basically just got down to it. I told him the gist of it. I told him what I like about him and I told him – in loose terms – that I wanted to be with him."

"...AND?"

"Well, that's when I started shaking and spilling my coffee all over my hand, burning myself in the process."

"You idiot, Blaine." Jeff was way too amused by that.

"Do you want me to keep going? No? Okay then. I'll stop..."

"YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HANGING HERE!"

"Fine! Fine! Okay. So Kurt basically sat there looking at me and then he told me that he does in fact have feelings for me too. He told me some things about me that he likes."

"HE LIKES YOU TOO! AHH! I KNEW IT!"

"Jeff! CALM YOURSELF!"

"I'm sorry dude, I'm just so excited. What happened next?"

"Well, I officially asked him out."

Jeff threw himself on top of me and gave me a bro-hug, or whatever he calls it. He fist-bumped me, and then promptly jumped off my bed and ran to the door.

"What're you doing?" I asked.

"Nothing," Jeff said with an evil grin.

I knew what that look meant.

"Don't you dare."

Jeff threw open our dorm room door and shouted down the hall, "ANDERSON AND HUMMEL! IT'S ON!"

Much to my surprise, I heard raucous applause and cheering. There were even some catcalls, but I suspected those came from David. I heard a gavel banging, too. No guessing who that was.

I pulled Jeff back into the room and slammed the room shut.

"Are you okay there? Telling everyone my personal business! I thought you said no one else noticed!"

"I lied, man. We've had bets on you for ages."

I just shoved a laughing Jeff back onto his bed and walked back over to my bed, grinning.

"You're not mad at me, dude, are you?"

"No, Jeff. To be honest, I'm too happy to be mad at you."

"That's actually kinda cute. And gross. IT'S KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME!"

And with the throw of a pillow, Jeff shut up until we both started laughing and just hanging out like we normally do. Best friends, just chilling in our dorm room, talking about girls (and boys, in my case) and eating so much junk, it could feed a small country. It felt good to be happy. And when my phone buzzed in my pocket, I felt happier instantly:

**From: Kurt Hummel**

**Thankyou for this morning... Best coffee date we've had. Coffee on Monday? :)**

I replied back without hesitation:

**To: Kurt Hummel**

**Of course. Coffee at seven. Can't wait. :)**

I thought that'd be the end of the texts, but when my phone buzzed again, I grinned hopelessly at the sight of Kurt's name.

**From: Kurt Hummel**

**Nor can I. I'll be counting down. :)**

Needless to say, Jeff found it very amusing and proceeded to sing his KURTIEBEAR CUDDLES song around our room for the rest of the day. He had a couple of bruises by dinnertime, but he enjoyed it. And I still wasn't mad, because I'd finally taken the leap. I finally had my chance with the boy that I can't stop thinking about.


	11. Chapter 11

The weekend passed in its usual, Dalton fashion. All the boarders messed around in the games room and in the kitchens until around 4:30 on the Sunday afternoon, when we'd all begin our homework. Yeah, we always left it to the last minute. That's just the way we worked.

It was the hour that Dalton was eerily quiet. You couldn't hear anything through the halls of the boarding house other than the turn of a page or the sharpening of a pencil. The peace and quiet was so out of character for Dalton students, and every time the bell rung to indicate it was dinnertime, the noise and destruction was very much welcomed by the teachers (who'd always get nervous when the halls were quiet).

Jeff and I decided to head to the dining hall together, where we'd meet up with Wes and David, and some other Warblers, Jason and Max. During the entire walk from our dorm room to the dining hall, which usually took around five minutes, Jeff insisted on humming the KURTIEBEAR CUDDLES song. Well, to be honest, he started off singing it, but once I'd elbowed him in the ribs HARD, he was kind enough to hum it. So considerate.

We reached the dining hall where we were instantly greeted with the smell of a roast dinner. We loved Sunday nights: you'd be guaranteed a beautiful roast with some form of rich dessert. So Jeff and I, having been one of the first guys there, sat at the long table right in front of the rolls, roast potatoes and gravy boats. We definitely had the advantage.

"OI! WHY'D YOU GET THE GOOD SPOT?"

Jeff and I turned to see Max and David walking over while Wes was desperately trying to get Jason to stop yelling at us.

"Calm yourself, it's just a roast!"

"It's not just a roast, Wes. It's a DALTON ROAST. THE BEST ROAST IN THE WORLD."

Jason and Wes continued bickering while Max and David sat opposite us. David was grinning at me suspiciously for about ten minutes before I finally asked him what he was smiling at.

"Hey Pedo-Bear. Is there a reason you're smiling at me like that?"

Max looked at David with a look that wiped the smile off of his face.

"It's nothing, Blaine. He's just being an idiot," Max offered.

"You sure? Because idiocy is the norm for him."

David glared at me, but I just stared at him right in the eyes until he cracked.

"Fine... So how's Kurt?"

Everyone in the general vicinity almost choked on their roast beef and turned to stare at me.

"He's fine," I replied nonchalantly, ripping my roll apart so I could butter it.

"Just fine, eh?"

I turned to look at David quickly, seeing his eyebrows jumping up and down, clearly running through several inappropriate innuendos in his head to see which one would get the biggest rise out of me.

"Dave, man, leave him alone, 'kay?" Jeff interjected.

"Never! We do this to everybody! TEASING IS NECESSARY! Besides, Blaineyboy here teased me about Vanessa!"

"Yeah, but I teased you because you accidentally called her NessyNessNess in front of us during dinner," I added.

"OH MY GOD! NESSYNESSNESS! HOW DID WE FORGET ABOUT THAT?" Jason jumped in his seat in realisation of this teasing device.

"Don't even think about it, Waterford."

I could see David slowly getting angry. He hadn't appreciate the merciless teasing the last time around, and if he was going to try and tease me about Kurt, I was perfectly capable of stepping it up a notch.

"Okay, David. Get it out now. What do you want to know about Kurt?"

Everyone continued eating, but I noticed the quietened down slightly and turned their eyes on me.

"Well," David began, "Is it true?"

"...Is what true?"

"Well, that you two are somewhat of an item?" David thought it was funny to put on a British accent for some reason. Idiot.

"That's... yet to be determined."

"What do you mean by that?" Wes asked, as he and Jason joined the table and the conversation.

"Yesterday... I mean, I asked him out. But I don't know what that means."

"Did he accept?" David asked.

"Yeah. He did."

"Well, that's a good thing, yeah? He likes you back."

"Yeah, but... I don't want to just assume that... that we're boyfriends or something."

Jason looked at me thoughtfully for a second while the others continued eating.

"I know what you mean here. You don't want to push anything."

"Exactly!" I was surprised with the way Jason, of all people, understood. He was known to be the Lothario of Dalton – he had a new girlfriend every week, and often mixed up the names of his ex-girlfriends.

"You know what you have to do though, don't you?"

"What?"

"You're going to have to test the waters on your first proper date. You've asked him out. Now ask him out to a specific date, and see how that goes. At the end, do something about it."

"...I'm not going to date-rape him!"

"WHOA! Why does everyone automatically assume I'm talking about sex all the time?"

Jeff looked Jason right in the eye and said, "Dude. You have a bulk carton of 100 condoms hidden underneath your bed."

Jason shrugged seemingly unaffected by Jeff's comeback and turned back to his dinner.

"Look," Wes started, "You like him. We've known you like him for ages now. It's not just going to go away. So after the first date, ask HIM what HE wants to do. And then you'll know where you stand."

"...That makes sense, I guess."

"Stop being such a buzzkill, Blaine! Shut up, relish in the fact that you got your hunky white boy, and eat your damned potatoes!" David slammed his knife down onto the table in fake-anger as he shouted across the table.

He'd shouted loud enough for the whole dining room to hear, so of course I prepared myself for what would happen next.

"HUNKY WHITE BOY!"

"IS THAT HUMMEL?"

"ANDERSON AND HUMMEL?"

"YEAH, YOU HEARD IT IN THE DORMS THIS MORNING!"

Various idiots were yelling and shouting throughout the dining hall and the teachers struggled to calm everyone down. Whenever I heard my name, I refused to look up or react to the guys yelling in any way. I sat there and ate my beautiful dinner without batting an eyelid. But I couldn't help but smile a little when I heard Kurt's name being thrown into the mix.

Jeff noticed the way I'd smile and proceeded to hum KURTIEBEAR CUDDLES just loud enough for only me to hear. I elbowed him in the ribs, polished off the rest of my meal and joined the guys as we took our dinner plates up to the buffet and exchanged them for dessert plates.

"Chocolate mudcake! Awesome!" Wes always had a severe love affair with chocolate.

"With a raspberry coulis!" Jason added.

Everyone just stared at Jason.

"Coulis?" I asked. "Now dude... that's just... gay."

"Like you can talk! You're gay!" Jason said in mock hurt.

"Yes," I grinned to myself and thought of Kurt. "Yes I am."


	12. Chapter 12

Monday came quick enough, and I'd gone through the usual morning routine: fighting Jeff for the shower, racing to the coffee shop to buy everything to surprise Kurt and then waiting for the butterflies to start causing serious stomach issues.

I was there, sitting in our usual spot, with our drinks and breakfast (combination of bagels and croissants) just patiently yet anxiously waiting for Kurt to arrive.

And then he did.

All I could see was the most beautiful person in the world. When he opened the door and stepped inside, it's like he brought light into the dim room. It was breathtaking, to say the least. He was too beautiful for words. And when he saw me, grinned, and walked right over to our table, I felt myself getting shakier until I realised that he'd said yes. We were dating.

"Hey," Kurt said, sliding into his seat effortlessly.

"Hey, how are you? How was your weekend?"

"Oh, it was good," Kurt replied, stirring the Splenda into his coffee, "Finn had a basketball game at school so I saw my old friends and caught up with them."

"That would've been good for you, I'm glad you got to catch up with them."

"Yeah... It was something I needed, I think. Mercedes has been texting me non-stop since the game, too!"

Kurt laughed that beautiful laugh of his, and I lose my train of thought while I was just staring at him as he sipped his coffee.

"Uhm. Blaine? You alright there?"

I snapped back to reality and rejoined the conversation.

"I'm sorry, you were saying something about Mercedes texting you?"

"Yeah, she's been texting me so much, I feel like she's going to get carpal tunnel."

"She must miss you," I said thoughtfully, resting my head in the palm of my hand and taking a sip of my coffee.

"Well, she was texting me about that and other things..." Kurt trailed off quietly.

"Other things, eh?" I teased him, "Like...?"

Kurt smiled at me and mirrored me, placing his head in the palm of his hand opposite me.

"Like how an amazingly gorgeous guy at my school asked me out."

I looked down at that, grinning like a small child on Christmas Day. The reality of the situation still hadn't set in, and I felt like at any moment, the bubble could burst, the dream could end, and I'd be back to square one: wishing and praying that Kurt would look at me in a different light.

Except, there he was, right in front of me – smiling, teasing me, laughing with me... It all felt so right.

"Hmm. That's an interesting conversation to have," I said coyly.

"Indeed," Kurt said, equally as coy.

"So," I said, "How has said conversation been going?"

"Interestingly."

Oh, that boy knew how to tease. He knew what he was doing to me. I knew it from the look he had in his eyes as he cut into his croissant and took a bite. He chewed slowly, looking at me the entire time with a small smile. He had NO idea what effect he was having on me.

"...You're such a tease, Kurt Hummel."

"I try," he says, polishing off his croissant before I'd even started my bagel.

"Hey... do you maybe wanna... go for a walk before school?"

Kurt looked at me, grinning.

"Sure. Of course. But don't you want to eat your bagel?"

I tucked my bagel into a napkin and slipped my bag over my shoulder. I then took my coffee in one hand with my bagel in the other and stood up, ready to go.

"Oh, I can multitask."

Kurt chuckled and picked up his coffee before promptly standing next to me, gesturing to the door with his free hand.

"After you, sir."

We exited the coffee shop and began our usual stroll around the campus. It was lightly snowing, which again gave us the most romantic setting. This time, though, we really were meant to be in this setting. This _was _a romantic situation.

I turned to Kurt as we passed one of the campus' biggest, most beautiful pine trees. I knew that I had to ask him out on an actual date if I was planning on actually dating him.

"Kurt, I have to ask you something," I began nervously.

"Yeah?" he stopped in his tracks and turned to face me.

"I wanted to ask you if... if you'd like to have an early dinner with me tonight? I was thinking maybe Breadstix, since you can't stop talking about it."

"Blaine, I'd love to."

"Yeah?"

Kurt looked at me so deeply, with his beautiful blue eyes fixated on mine.

"Yeah. Really."

I couldn't help myself. I was smiling like an idiot, on the inside and on the outside. Kurt noticed, too.

"You look really happy with yourself," he said, winking at me with a big grin.

"I am really happy... but not just with me," I said, staring deep into his eyes just like he'd done not even a minute ago.

We both stood there for several moments, just looking at each other as if our eyes were having their own private conversation. I memorised every aspect of his beautiful face – every single stunning feature.

We were both slowly moving closer and closer. If we had moved our heads in just one little bit more, our noses would have been touching. I so badly wanted to just lean and kiss those beautiful lips, or even just lift my hand to caress his cheek. But I had a bagel in one hand and a coffee in another.

Or at least, I did, until Jeff ran out from nowhere, stole my bagel, messed up my hair and yelled "KEEP IT G-RATED, BOYS!" as he ran away faster than I'd ever seen him run in my life.

Kurt just stepped back looking slightly embarrassed, while I shook my head and cursed Jeff.

_Cockblocked by a motherfucking roommate, _I thought.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey guys,  
>I've had an influx of subscriptions and things so I guess some of you like what I've written. BUT I'm still unsure as to whether or not I'll keep writing. So I'm writing maybe one or two more chapters and if you'd like to review (tell me what you like and don't like) Seven that'd be great. Thankyou so much for reading this far! REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY! (:<p>

I'd also like to quickly point out that because I'm Australian, I'm trying my best to refrain from using Australian slang. It may pop up every now and then. If it does, let me know. I'm also TRYING to put some Americanisms in here so let me know how I'm going with that.

Not even a second after Jeff ruined the perfect moment, the bell had gone to signal the beginning of the school day. Kurt and I had to race to our lockers, get our things and race off to our first classes without really saying anything at all.

Though, we didn't need to say anything. The morning had just been amazing, and the prospect of a real date made me feel all shaky and nervous, yet extremely excited and enthusiastic about the whole thing.

Everyone knew by now that something was going on. Every classmate I ran into either winked at me, made a suggestive comment or just clapped my back in a 'nice one, man' kinda way. It was a strange feeling. Having classmates that aren't _that _close to me congratulate me was weird. It was odd. But it was also nice to know that homophobia just wasn't present at Dalton. And thank God for that.

The day was a blur. I couldn't remember any of the homework tasks, I couldn't recall what we'd had for lunch in the cafeteria and –possibly the most surprising of all- I couldn't even remember how many times Wes had banged the gavel throughout the day. All I could think about was how Kurt was sitting next to me in the cafeteria and how he walked with me to the science block for my chemistry class even though he had English on the other side of the campus.

All I could think of was Kurt.

So of course, being the nervous, excited puppy I was, I ran from my afternoon class straight to my dorm room so I could be the first in the showers. I wasn't taking any chances – I knew Jeff, Jason or David would want to mess with me.

I was right, of course, because I found that they'd gone through my stash of toiletries and had stolen my deodorant, my razor and my aftershave. Those bastards. They were gonna pay for that.

I took the opportunity to steal all of Jeff's candy bars from our mini-fridge, melt them in my hands, open each and every chocolate bar and shove them in inconvenient places. His pillowcase, his shoes, his socks, his hair gel and cell phone charger were all covered in melted chocolate. _Let's see how he likes that, _I thought.

I couldn't do anything about my missing razor, deodorant and after shave, so I stole one of Jeff's unopened razors and aftershave. I always had a spare deodorant in my Phys Ed bag so that wasn't a problem. I still managed to hit the showers before anyone else and showered in record time. I was out of the bathroom, clean-shaven and squeaky clean, before most of the guys had even made it back to the dorms.

Luckily, one of the few conversations I remembered from lunch was the conversation in which Kurt and I organised our date. The plan was for me to pick him up from his house in Lima to take him out to Breadstix. This meant, of course, meeting his family for the first time. But I thought I could deal with that as long as Kurt didn't look as insanely hot as he usually does. _THAT _just may have killed me.

So after my record-breaking shower/primping routine, I ran back to my dorm to find Jeff just walking in, about to lie back and put his head on the pillow.

It took all of my restraint not to laugh as I grabbed my shoes, car keys, wallet and cell phone from my nightstand and turned to leave.

"Hey Blaine," Jeff stopped me as I put one hand on the doorknob.

"Yeah?"

"Have a good time with Kurt. I mean it, man. You deserve to be happy."

Jeff's words touched me. We'd been best friends since we became roommates here at Dalton, but I'd never imagined he'd be so... deep.

"Thanks Jeff. That means a lot."

"Anytime. Now go have fun!"

"Will do," I laughed as I backed out of the room, "OH, and just... lay back and relax, okay Jeff? Enjoy the evening to yourself."

With that I slammed the door shut and sprinted out of the boarding house straight to the parking lot, somehow managing to shove my shoes on along the way. I unlocked my car, jumped inside and promptly locked the doors. No sooner had I put the keys in the ignition had I received a text message

**From: The Jeffsterr**

**Chocolate. Everyfuckingwhere. You jackass. Expect revenge when you get back. Say hi to Kurtie for me. **

I chuckled. Jeff was never really good at revenge, though I knew that if he enlisted the help of Jason, and he probably would, it was going to be severe. I was in for it. But I didn't care. I was on my way to pick Kurt up from his house. To take him out. On a date. A PROPER FUCKING DATE.

The night was going to be amazing. I was going to make sure of it. Kurt would have it all, no matter the cost. All I wanted was for him to be the happiest guy in the world. And by him being happy, I knew I'd be happy too.


	14. Chapter 14

_Hey guys, _

_This chapter is the DATE CHAPTER! It's a lot longer than the other chapters. Took me a few hours, but I hope you like it. Again, please review, because reviews = more chapters. School starts soon, so I'll need to write fast now if I'm going to keep writing._

_I hope you like this chapter. It's my favourite._

The drive to Kurt's felt much longer than it actually was. I knew that it would be a two hour drive, but in all honesty, it felt like an eternity.

The moment I pulled onto Kurt's street I felt an instant sigh of relief. Kurt was just minutes, no, _seconds _away, and it wouldn't be long for us to be in the same room. That thought alone made me shiver with excitement.

I drove my Prius (my parents are very environmentally conservative) straight into the driveway, as per Kurt's orders. After taking a nervous breath, I parked the car, turned off the ignition, got out of the car and locked it behind me before shakily walking up to the door.

With extremely unsteady hands, I moved to knock on the door. Apparently I was so shaky that the knock sounded more like a light scratch. I tried knocking the door again, composing myself to the best of my ability. This time, it actually resembled a knock. _About freaking time_, I thought to myself.

I could see a figure walking towards me through the frosted windowpanes of the door. The figure looked quite broad and manly, but not tall enough to resemble Finn (since Kurt had told me many times of his likeness to Frankenstein). I knew then that it was Kurt's father, which made me even more nervous than I should have been.

The door opened and there stood Burt Hummel, looking both uncomfortable and fierce at the same time.

"Blaine Anderson?"

"Yes sir, it's a pleasure to meet you," I replied, extending my shaky hand in an attempt to be cordial, friendly, and to be someone a parent would approve of.

Mr Hummel gave me a small smile and shook my hand strongly. I knew that he was a man not to mess with, but how could I ever mess with him? I would never do anything to hurt Kurt, and as soon as Mr Hummel knew that, I knew everything would be perfect.

Just like Kurt.

"Come on in, Carole's going to die if she doesn't meet you ASAP."

Mr Hummel gestured for me to come in, and as I walked into the house and followed his directions into the living room, I felt even more nervous than I did actually asking Kurt out on this date. Seeing Carole and Finn standing there, just staring at me, made me very conscious of _every_ move I was about to make.

"Blaine! We've heard so much about you! Welcome to our home!"

Carole moved forward and swept me up into a tight hug, leaving me standing there awkwardly with my arms pinned to my side. I managed, somehow, to lift my right arm up to pat her back (again, awkwardly) until the hug broke and I saw the beaming smile on her face.

"And this is Finn... Finn, honey, say hi to Blaine."

Finn looked just as nervous as I was, yet still managed to move forward and extend his hand in a welcoming gesture. I took his hand and shook it warmly, wanting him to know that although this situation was awkward, he had nothing to worry about.

"Uhm. Yeah. I'm Finn."

He chuckled nervously as the handshake broke, so I thought it best for me to make him feel as comfortable as possible.

"Kurt's told me a lot about you. He says you're a really good guy. That you look out for him."

Finn's eyes brightened and he straightened up slightly when he heard me compliment him. It may have calmed him down, and I'm still not sure, but he seemed to warm up to be quite a bit after that.

"Uh... my brother's just getting ready. You know how he is. He'll probably be late, you know," Finn started talking as if we'd known each other for a while – as if we were friends.

"Good thing I told him the date starts in five minutes. Our reservations aren't for another thirty minutes or so."

"Ha! I should try that sometime," Mr Hummel interjected as he entered the room, "It'd make getting him off to school a whole lot easier."

"Honey, he just wants to look nice," Carole reached over to put her arm around her husband reassuringly.

"I don't mind too much. It's actually one of the traits I like so much about Kurt..."

After I'd spoken, I'd realised what I'd said. That was a big thing, to reveal so much in so few words. For them to know one of the reasons I was interested in their son was probably more than they needed to know.

I considered myself lucky, though, because nobody mentioned it. I thought I saw Carole grin into her husband's chest a little bit, but I wasn't sure.

Because at that moment, Kurt Hummel walked down the stairs.

He was the most beautiful person in the world. His beautifully smooth skin, his flawless hair style, his black fitted vest and his dark denim skinny jeans just made him absolutely irresistible to me. I knew he was going to look amazing. I knew I'd have trouble coming to terms with it. But that? That started the undapper thoughts. _Cool it Blaine, _I thought to myself, _otherwise you'll have a certain _problem _that you really don't want to deal with right now._

I knew I couldn't concentrate on how unbelievably hot and sexy Kurt looked. _That _ was sure to get me on his dad's bad side. Instead I just stood there with my mouth wide open, staring at the boy I knew had stolen my heart.

"Blaine? You okay there?" Kurt asked as he began to approach me, shoving his keys and phone into his (incredibly tight) pockets on his way.

I shut my mouth and shook myself back into the moment. I couldn't stop myself from smiling as I took a step forward.

"Yeah. I'm fine," I said, as I walked over to him, "You look incredible, you know that?" I whispered the last part so that only Kurt would hear.

"Who do you think chose my outfit?" he replied teasingly.

I couldn't bear it anymore. I swept Kurt up into the biggest hug I could while keeping it chaste enough for his family to witness. I didn't hold onto him more than a couple of seconds, even though I wanted to.

"Now, no silly business, okay boys? Blaine, I want Kurt home by ten at the absolute latest. It IS a school night, after all."

I turned to Kurt's father with a reassuring smile.

"Of course, Mr Hummel. I'll have him home, safe and sound. I'm only taking him to Breadstix, so we should be home well before ten."

"I'm holding you to that," he said with a laugh, though I knew from the look in his eyes that he was dead serious.

"You guys get going. Have a lovely time!" Carole ushered us out the door, possibly just as eager as we were to get the date going.

Kurt and I said goodbye to Finn and Carole and were escorted outside by Mr Hummel.

"Kurt, can you go wait by Blaine's car for a second? I have to talk to him about something."

"Dad, please don't-"

"Kurt, if you don't, you won't be going."

Kurt looked nervous for a second, as if he didn't know whether or not to push the boundaries.

"Here," I said to Kurt, placing my keys in his hands, "It's cold out, so you can sit inside and turn the heat on if you want."

"Thanks Blaine. Dad, no more than five minutes, okay?"

"Don't worry, your dad's just looking out for you. We're fine. You sit in the car."

Kurt looked back and forth between Mr Hummel and I before jumping in the car in favour of warmth. With the knowledge that Kurt couldn't hear our conversation, Mr Hummel turned to me.

"Now, Blaine... Kurt has told us all a lot about you. You seem like a really good guy and I trust Kurt's judgement... But I just want to know that you'll keep my boy safe."

"Don't worry Mr Hummel. I only have the best intentions for Kurt. He... he makes me so happy. I will never hurt him."

"Okay. Well... you go and have a good time. But, just remember something..."

"Yes?"

"Whatever you do to my son, and I mean _do_ to my son, I _will_ do to you."

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or be horrified. I settled with an understanding nod.

"Of course, Mr Hummel," I said softly, "You have nothing to worry about."

Mr Hummel looked at me for a few seconds and said, "You go. And next time, call me Burt, okay kid?"

With this newfound trust I had from Kurt's father I found myself internally jumping up and down. If I had Burt's approval, there were no obstacles left in the road to a perfect relationship with the most perfect person ever.

"Thank you, _Burt,_" I said as I shook his hand before turning to face the car.

Upon seeing Kurt fixing his hair in my rearview mirror, I couldn't help but chuckle in my head. He really made me happy, and knowing that I was about to go out on date with him made me happier than I could ever have imagined I would be.

I walked to the car, quicker than I normally would have, and jumped right into the driver's seat, fastening my seat belt and starting the car.

"What was that about?" Kurt asked the moment I hit my seat.

"Not right now," I said with a forced smile, "Wait til we get around the corner. And put your seatbelt on, I'm trying to win your dad's trust here."

"Oh alright," he said with mock annoyance.

We waved to Burt, and Carole who had come outside to join Burt in seeing us off, and then reversed out of Kurt's driveway to begin the journey to Breadstix.

As soon as we turned out of his street, Kurt turned to me.

"Okay. You can tell me now. What was that about?"

"You don't give in, do you?"

"Just tellllll meeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"Kurt, as hot as your little 'annoying child' act is right now, I'm trying to drive here."

"...hot, am I?"

We'd reached a red light, so I was able to take my eyes off the road for a second and look Kurt right in the eyes.

"Yes. Hot. But also... so amazing beautiful and perfect in every way possible."

With that, I took Kurt's hand in my free hand and continued to drive with our fingers intertwined. We drove in silence, but neither of us felt the need to talk. The moment was so perfect, talking could have just ruined it. We didn't say a word until we reached Breadstix and parked. I removed the keys from the ignition and turned to face Kurt.

"As perfect as this moment is," I said softly, looking at him deeply, "I'd really like to take you out on this date and get to know you even more than I do now."

"Me too," Kurt said just as softly, as he squeezed my hand before removing his hands from mine and jumping out of the car.

He waited at the footpath for me to join him with a warm smile showing through his eyes. I put my keys in my pocket and extended a hand for Kurt to take. His warm, soft hand felt so perfect with mine. I never wanted to let go.

I led him into Breadstix and over to the maitre' d, where I confirmed the reservation (Anderson, for two) and the waiter led us over to a private booth in the darkest corner of the restaurant.

"I hope this is to your liking," the waiter said, gesturing for us to sit in the seats (which unfortunately, we had to separate to do) and placing the menus in front of us.

"Yes, thankyou, this is lovely," Kurt piped up unexpectedly. He'd clearly been here before, so I knew that he knew how the restaurant worked. But I saw more than just familiarity in his response.

"Any drinks to start?"

Before Kurt could answer, I ordered for the both of us.

"Diet cokes for both of us, thanks," I said with a grin to Kurt.

"Coming right up," the waiter said, taking note of our order and walking away.

Kurt and I looked at our menus in silence. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, though it would have been better if we were holding hands like we were in the car. _That _was perfect.

"What's good here?" I broke the silence, smiling warmly at Kurt, my _date._

Kurt saw my hand just lying on the table and he put his hand over it.

"I'll order for you. Trust me."

I couldn't help but gaze into Kurt's beautiful, crystal-clear blue eyes.

"I do."

The waiter looked apologetic as he cleared his throat to interrupt us and give us our drinks.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he started apologising.

"Really, it's okay, that's what we're here for," I laughed it off.

"Are you ready to order your meals?" the waiter asked, avoiding our gazes.

"Yes," Kurt answered for us, "We'd like one order of the lasagne and salad, and one order of the risotto, please."

The waiter made a note on his pad, took our menus and told us that it'd be around a twenty minute wait before leaving faster than I'd seen anyone walk before.

"Lasagne and risotto, hey? What am I having?"

Kurt winked at me. "We share. I love both, I couldn't choose, and you'll love both of them, so I figured we could share."

I looked at him, amused. "So... the truth comes out. Kurt Hummel: Uses Dates For Food."

He took my hand and squeezed it again, without letting go this time, and looked me right in the eyes.

"Trust me. There's only one reason I'm here with you tonight."

I placed my free hand on top of Kurt's so that our hands were completely joined.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You, Blaine. Just you."

Nothing else had to be said. We knew why we were there. There was something just so amazing in sitting there with Kurt, gazing into each others eyes and just holding hands. I couldn't believe that the night could have been any more perfect, but it just kept getting better.

Kurt decided to try flirting, it seemed.

"So... you said I look hot tonight?" he asked with a coy look in his eye.

"Why yes," I replied, mimicking his flirty nature, "yes I did."

"Do tell..."

I leant in closer so that even if someone were sitting at the next table, they wouldn't be able to hear a thing.

"When I saw you walk down those stairs," I whispered, "You looked absolutely irresistible. And if your family hadn't been standing right there..."

I trailed off, leaving him hanging as I took a sip of my Diet Coke. I knew it was killing him, and it was entertaining, in a way. But I also knew I couldn't leave him like that. I knew I had to finish.

"...what would you have done?" he asked me expectantly.

I leant in even closer, so close that if Kurt had moved forward just one inch, our noses would have been touching. I whispered even softer this time, not wanting anyone else to enter our own private little world.

"Whatever you'd have wanted me to do."

It was at that inopportune moment our meals arrived, and the waiter stumbled on his words before nervously placing our plates down in front of us and again before we'd even had a chance to thank him.

I knew I'd be leaving him a massive tip.

Kurt and I had to break hands as we picked up our forks and began to eat.

"Poor waiter," he said, "He's been so good to us and all we've done is scare him with our..."

He couldn't seem to find the words, so I used it as an opportunity to tease him further.

"With our...?"

"No more teasing, Blaine. We should be nice to each other. Maybe."

"Nawww! But teasing is fun!"

"BLAINE."

"Fine, fine. I have something serious to talk about anyways."

Kurt looked up from his risotto to listen carefully. I appreciated that: he always seemed to know when I meant something.

"I've been thinking..."

"...About?"

"...You, Kurt. I've been thinking about you... and me... and truth be told, it took me way too long to pluck up the courage and ask you out."

"What do you mean?" Kurt had stopped eating and was just concentrating on me, so I put my fork on my plate and took the opportunity to say everything I had to say.

"Kurt... I've felt this connection with you from the day I met you. The minute you introduced yourself, you had an impact on my life. All I saw was this amazing, beautiful guy that I just _had _to get to know.  
>And then you put your trust in me. You let me into your world and you confided in me. Every time you needed help, I did all I could to put myself at your disposal. Every time you cried, I cried inside. All I could think of was just taking you in my arms and holding you until all your pain just went away..."<p>

Kurt remained silent with his eyes on mine. He leaned forward and took my hands yet again, without saying anything. I continued.

"I... I've never, _never_, felt this way about anyone. It sounds cliché, but I know that... we're meant to be together. All I want is to take your hand, thrust it in the air in the middle of Dalton and shout that you're my boyfriend. I want to take you out to dates and make you feel special. I want to make you feel like you're the luckiest guy in the world, because that's exactly how you've made me feel since the moment I met you. I've felt nothing but incredible happiness since I met you.  
>You make me so happy, and I want to spend every spare fucking moment with you."<p>

I saw small tears escaping from the corner of Kurt's eyes and I knew that he felt _something_.

"Blaine... the way you just talked about me explains everything I've ever felt about you. You make me a better person. You give me courage, faith and happiness every single day. And I don't know how a teenage relationship goes but I know that this isn't just hormones.  
>For me, this is real... and <em>I <em>want to spend every spare fucking moment with _you._"

I held Kurt's hands even tighter as I felt tears welling in my eyes too. To know that the person you love feels so strongly for you is an incredible feeling, and I just wanted to be even closer to Kurt now that I knew exactly how he felt.

I took his hands and squeezed them, before jumping up and pulling him with me. I passed the register, handing over enough money to cover food and the massive tip for the poor waiter along the way.

"Blaine, what are you doing? What's happening to our date?"

"Change of scenery," I said, gesturing to Kurt to get in the car.

He slid into his seat without a word after I opened the door for him and closed it gently after I saw he was in safely. I raced around to my side, jumped into my seat quickly and shoved the keys in the ignition.

"You're scaring me a bit now. Where are we going?"

As the car roared into life, I turned to look at Kurt, brushed his cheek with my hand softly and said, "somewhere perfect."

I drove as fast as I could without exceeding the speed limit, though I'm sure in my excitement I broke a few laws anyway. I was so excited and nervous about what I was about to do that I didn't even care. Kurt was all that mattered to me.

I drove into the parking space closest to a beautiful, quiet park consisting of a couple of park benches, miles of green grass and an open sky. I parked the car, jumped out faster than I'd gotten into the car just a few moments earlier and ran around to Kurt's side to open the door. I held out my hand for Kurt to take, which he did with a warm smile and a squeeze of my hand, before closing his door, locking the car and pulling Kurt over to one of the park benches.

The park was deserted, peaceful and the moonlight bounced off of the melting snow glistening on the green grass. It was the perfect place for the perfect moment.

I pulled Kurt down to sit next to me on one of the park benches, leaned back and told him to do the same, so he could see the beautiful night sky. Every single star seemed to shine just for us, and I felt Kurt move in closer to get a better view. I felt his fingers tighten their grip when clasped around mine and I knew that _this _was the perfect moment I'd been waiting for.

"Kurt?"

"Yes?" he replied softly, still staring at the breathtaking view above us.

"Would you do me the honour of being my boyfriend?"

Kurt sat up, moved in even closer and faced me so that we were sitting there, facing each other head-on. He brought our hands closer to his heart, and I felt his warm heartbeat pulsing away.

"There is nothing in the world I would love more," he said softly, as if he was sharing yet another part of our own private little world with me.

At that moment, everything was beautiful. Everything was perfect. I couldn't believe that someone so amazing could ever want me like Kurt did, and him accepting my offer made me feel so ecstatic that I couldn't help but smile like a lunatic.

And then, Kurt pulled our hands closer to him yet again, pulling me in with them. Our noses were touching that time, and I noticed that we were both silently crying softly. We moved in closer, slowly, until our lips just touched in a sweet, gentle kiss. It lasted for a few seconds, and we broke apart with our foreheads pressed together.  
>I then pulled my hands out of Kurt's strong grasp to wrap my arms around his waist to pull him in yet again. He responded by wrapping one arm around my lower back and by placing his other hand on the back of my neck.<p>

We leant in and kissed again, this time with more passion and urgency than we had the first time. I felt the need to be close to Kurt: to feel his warm touch, to just be with him. And as we kissed, I felt as though fireworks were erupting above our heads. I felt Kurt's tongue touch my lips and I opened them slightly so that we could get even closer. I wrapped my arms around him even tighter as he pulled me closer by the neck. We were kissing so passionately, with so much feeling and meaning, that I didn't care about anything else in the world.

We kissed for hours it seemed, until I remembered that I had to take Kurt home. I hesitantly broke the kiss, keeping Kurt close to me. We pulled in closer in the closest, warmest embrace and just sat there for a few minutes before I had to break away.

I kept my hands on Kurt's waist and looked at him. He was even more stunning than I'd ever seen him before. I saw his grin, the same grin I had on my face, and I knew that no matter what happened, Kurt and I were _meant _for each other.

"I don't want to leave, but if we're ever to do this again, I need to get you back to your dad."

Kurt looked at his phone for the time.

"It's only 9:20..." He looked at me with longing eyes.

I couldn't resist pulling him in for a gentle, chaste kiss before pulling him up from the park bench and leading him to the car. I opened his door like a gentleman, helped him inside and shut the door gently before racing to get in the car myself.

Once I was sitting next to Kurt in the driver's side, I took his hand again.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

"For what?"

"...For giving me everything."


	15. Chapter 15

_Shorter chapter this time around. Remember, reviews keep me writing. This chapter didn't come as easily to me as the date chapter did, but I tried. Let me know what you think. If I hear nothing, I'll stop writing (: just saying. _

_(I also have around 5 assignments to do, so the sooner I get this done, _if _I'm getting it done, the better.) _

_Thankyou to the lovely people who have written reviews so far. You're lovely. Yes. Lovely._

Though I so desperately wanted to spend the rest of the night with Kurt, I somehow managed to drop him back home with half an hour to spare. Burt looked impressed as I walked Kurt to the door and brought him home safely, and even disappeared for a few seconds on the pretence of getting a beer so that we could say goodbye.

"Thank you so much, Blaine. This was possibly the most magical night of my life."

"You know, if I didn't feel the exact same way, I'd pull you up on a bad cliché."

"You jerk!"

Kurt shoved my shoulder playfully, then moving his arm around to my waist with his other arm following suit. He pulled me into a close, warm hug that was appropriate enough if any family members happened to wander outside.

"I really do mean it, Blaine," he whispered in my ear, "This was amazing."

I tightened my grip around Kurt's waist.

"No, thank you Kurt. You've made me the happiest guy in the world," I whispered back.

At that moment, Burt had wandered back outside to usher Kurt inside.

"Nice to see you, Blaine. Drive safe, okay?" he called out to me as I turned towards my car.

"Will do. And thanks for letting me have Kurt tonight, I really appreciate it."

"Anytime..."

When I drove back into the Dalton parking lot, I suddenly remembered the text Jeff had sent me. He'd discovered my little prank, and I was in for it. I knew it. Once Jeff plans his revenge, the wheels are already fast in motion. I knew he'd get everyone involved: Nick, Wes, Jason, David, all the Warblers, and probably everyone else in the dorm.

I took a quick glance into the back seat and saw the old coat I kept there in case it ever rained or snowed unexpectedly. I thought it was wise to bring that with me to use as a shield if necessary. You never know with Dalton guys.

I must admit, though, I was rather unimpressed with the silent halls of the boarding house. I was disappointed that I made it through the door with having buckets of goo and other random objects emptying above me. Absolutely nothing hit me. Maybe there weren't any pranks?

I carefully walked over to my bed as slowly as possible, whipping my head around in every direction to see if anything was headed in my direction. I sat down on my bed, very aware of my surroundings, and started to pull my wallet, phone and keys out of my pockets to put them on my nightstand.

I noticed that Jeff wasn't even in our room, which was odd considering that on weeknights our curfews are always 10:00pm at the absolute latest, and it was already 10:25.

He was up to something, and I knew it. Where the hell was he?

The answer came soon after I'd laid back in bed with my iPod (listening to some Katy Perry in light of my fantastic evening). Jeff walked into the room, shutting the door behind him and turning to me in an evil grin.

"So... how was your _date,_ Blaine?" he asked, raising his eyebrows looking just as creepy as... well... as Pedo-Bear. Or Sandy Ryerson.

I pulled my earphones out and watched him carefully as I responded with a simple, "Fine..."

I noticed that his arms were behind his bag, holding onto this massive white thing that turned out to be a pillow.

"What's that, Jeff?"

"This?" he said in mock surprise, "This? Oh... this is just something the boarders and I made for you in the art rooms today."

He hit me right in the face with the massive pillow and ran to his bed, jumping underneath the covers. He was already wearing his Dalton tracksuit pants, and he threw off his Dalton sweatshirt in favour of the bare-chested look.

I looked down at the pillow in front of me as I heard Jeff's stifled laughter. I flipped it over and nearly jumped straight onto his bed once I saw what was on the pillowcase.

"KURTIEBEAR CUDDLES MAKE BLAINEYBOO SMILE!" was written in bright, rainbow block letters above a picture of a teddybear with Kurt's head photoshopped onto it.

Acting like I didn't care made Jeff mad, so I simply put the pillow on top of my original pillows and climbed back on top of the bed, lying back with my head leaning on my arms.

"Well... don't you like it, Blaine?"

"It's fine. Comfy. Thanks man."

I could practically see the smoke coming out of Jeff's ears. Still, he refused to respond, instead taking a more serious approach to the conversation by changing the subject to the actual date.

"Okay. Spill. Tell me everything."

"Well... we went to dinner, we talked, we had fun."

"That's it? I need details, bro."

I thought about it for a moment before deciding on a simple yet informative response.

"It was perfect."

"... you guys kissed?"

Jeff sat up and genuinely smiled at me. He always was the most supportive non-gay friend I had.

"...yeah."

"That's awesome! Congrats! I'm excited for you two now, I am."

"Thanks... me too."

"So are you boyfriends now?"

"I asked him that too..."

"...and?"

I nodded, not able to say anything with the massive grin on my face.

"Again, that's awesome! I'm so happy for you. You deserve this Blaine."

"Thanks Jeff."

"Now you better get some sleep so you look all hunky for your boyfriend tomorrow."

I snorted. "Ha! Like I'm not hunky enough already!"

Jeff and I continued to bait each other and tease each other until he fell asleep. I heard my phone vibrating on the nightstand, and when I picked it up, I smiled and giggled to myself when seeing the **1 New Message – Kurt Hummel **light up my screen.

**From: Kurt Hummel**

**Thankyou for tonight. Everything was perfect and so incredibly amazing. X**

My stomach did some flips when realising that Kurt had signed off with an 'x'. I couldn't help but respond as quickly as I received the text.

**To: Kurt Hummel**

**I should be thanking you, Kurt. YOU'RE amazing. Coffee tomorrow? x**

Within seconds I received a reply.

**From: Kurt Hummel**

**You, me, coffee at seven. X**

I knew the next day was going to be amazing.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Hey guys,**_

_**This is a hideously long chapter, around 2000 words or something like that. Hopefully it'll tide you over for a few days. I'm going on retreat, too, so I'll hopefully write another chapter and post it just before I leave.**_

_**Thankyou to the lovely people writing reviews. Please, keep them coming. I need some constructive criticism too! If you don't like something, please tell me. If you like something, please tell me. If you'd like the full lyrics to "**_**Kurtie Bear Cuddle Time"**_**, don't worry, I'm working on it.**_

_**Let me know how you like this chapter – I'm on the fence about it – and let me know if you still want more. Thanks! **_

I awoke the next morning more excited for a cup of coffee than I'd ever been. I kept thinking back to the previous night – the date night – and smiling like a madman. I couldn't help but think about Kurt constantly, through every step of my morning routine. When showering, I wondered which body wash would smell best for Kurt. When gelling my hair, I wondered how Kurt would like my hair to look. When shrugging my Dalton blazer on and tying my tie around my neck, I wondered if I would meet Kurt's impeccable dress standards.

Everything I was doing was for Kurt. And I loved it.

Jeff saw I was practically bouncing around the room and just snorted every time I stopped to check my phone for the time.

"Dude, calm yourself, you won't be late."

"Can't take a chance, though, can I? I'm meeting up with my _boyfriend,"_ I would reply with a wink, a small shiver of excitement and a very, _very _wide smile.

After a while, Jeff just stopped responding, saying nothing except a 'good luck' as I danced out of the room on my way to the coffee date. The coffee date with Kurt. The coffee date with Kurt, my boyfriend. My head was filled with excitement. There was an ongoing conga line and balloons and steamers and a chimpanzee, though I don't know why the chimpanzee was there, that seemed a little random. And odd. _Why do all of my daydreams include chimpanzees?_ I thought.

I was pondering my chimpanzee daydreaming tendencies while walking to the coffee shop. Or, running, rather, since I desperately wanted to get there before Kurt and get everything ready. I wanted to take that World's Best Boyfriend title and make it mine.

It appeared as though Kurt had the same idea as I did, as we reached the door to the coffee shop at the exact same time. I was obviously deeply entrenched in my daydreaming when Kurt noticed me and brought me back into the moment.

"Hey!" He greeted me warmly, opening his arms to give me a hug.

"Chimps are funny," I replied without meaning to. _Shit, inside thought, Blaine! You idiot! "Chimps are funny? What the hell were you thinking?"_

"...Chimps are funny?" Kurt's arms dropped to his side as he began to laugh hysterically.

"I say, 'hey', and you say 'Chimps are funny?' What the? You're so... crap, Blaine, I can't breathe."

Kurt's outburst of laughter brought me back into the present, and I realised that he was bending over and clutching his stomach so much he would probably fall over.

"I mean, hi!" I tried to recover and begin a normal, _human _conversation with Kurt, but it just wasn't happening any time soon.

"CHIMPS ARE FUNNY! I don't know why that's so funny but IT JUST IS! OH MY GOD!"

"Come on, Kurt! Don't be mean! I was daydreaming!"

Kurt's laughter stopped as he turned to me with an amused look on his face.

"Daydreaming about _chimps?_"

"...well... I don't know... I usually just daydream about things and chimpanzees somehow make their way into the daydream."

"...Blaine Anderson, you are so _special_."

"Good to hear," I grinned, wanting to give my boyfriend the greeting he should have had.

"How are you?" I asked, wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling him in for a close, warm hug.

Kurt responded with enthusiasm, wrapping his arms around my neck to hug me back.

"I'm very, _very _good. You?"

"Same."

We stood there in that very position for a minute or two before finally breaking apart. Neither of us wanted to – well, I didn't want to. Being there with Kurt in my arms just felt _right._ There was no other word for it.

"Coffee, Mr Hummel?" I asked, taking his hand in mine and opening the door with my freehand to usher him inside.

"Why thankyou, Mr Anderson," he replied with a cheesy grin, stepping inside the coffee shop.

The minute we walked into the warmth of the shop, we entered into a fun argument over who was buying coffee.

"I'll get everything, Kurt. Do you want to grab our table?"

"Blaine, _I'm _buying this morning. _You _should go get the table."

"...Kurt, I want to buy you breakfast. Let me buy your breakfast."

"Are you serious? You take me out on the most amazing date, you pay for dinner, you pay for every single coffee date we have... just let me buy for you this morning."

"Nuh-uh. Deal with it, Kurt. I'm buying for you."

"But-"

"Remember our deal? I buy coffee and breakfast, and then you buy me a cookie. Then we're even."

"Blaine, a $20 breakfast order is different to a $2.99 cookie with M'n'M's."

I squeezed Kurt's hand and leant in to whisper in his ear.

"You've already given me more than I could ask for."

With that, I let go of Kurt's hand and leapt forward to the counter to make our order. I heard Kurt laugh a little as he walked towards our table and claimed it for us.

I ordered the usual, remembering that Kurt was fawning over the croissants last time, and remembered to get the lids, sugars, napkins and stirring sticks. I loaded the tray with our breakfast and set it down carefully onto our table.

"Thank you, Blaine, you're too sweet." Kurt said gratefully, picking up his mocha and stirring in a Splenda.

I pretend to flip my hair back and said, "Oh you!"

I sat down at the table, unloaded the tray and distributed the napkins, lids and stirring sticks between the two of us.

"So how's the coffee?" I asked Kurt, still giddy from what had happened the night before.

"It's good, it's good, though not as good as the lasagne from last night."

"You're seriously comparing coffee and lasagne? They'd kill you in Italy for that."

"Hush you! I was just casually attempting a segue, thanks for ruining it!"

"Oh, I see how it is. You wanted to talk about our date last night. It must've been horrible if you're dwelling on it," I teased Kurt, knowing that it'd take a few seconds for it to hit him that I was just messing with him.

"What? No, I loved the date! Every second of it! I loved it- You're messing with me aren't you? You tease, Blaine Anderson!" Kurt leaned over to punch me in the arm, albeit quite gently.

"I know, I know. I just wanted to hear you say that you had a good time."

A look of concern appeared on Kurt's face as he reached over with his free hand to cover my hand with his.

"You _know_ I had a good time. There's nothing to be worried about, it was perfect... What's wrong?"

It was the moment I realised how I'd been so protective of every moment I had with Kurt. The rushing to buy coffee, the nervousness before asking him out, the compulsive need to spend every possible second with him... it all added up. I didn't want to lose him. That's what I was afraid of. Call me stupid, but given that I'd finally found someone so amazing, I was unconsciously doing whatever I could to protect our relationship.

"Well... I guess I'm just second-guessing... Don't worry, just me being stupid," I tried to laugh it off and cover it up by taking a sip of my medium drip, but Kurt knew me better than that.

He squeezed my hand and held on even tighter than before and looked me straight in the eyes.

"Blaine. You never _ever _have to be afraid to tell me something. I'm always here. I'm not going anywhere."

"I know," I began, knowing that I was about to tell Kurt exactly how I felt even though I hadn't even realised what was going through my mind until a few seconds prior.

"I guess I feel like... like this is all to perfect. That's it's a dream, you know? That... that in any moment, I could wake up and none of this is happening."

Kurt put his mocha on the table and put his other hand over mine so that both of his hands were holding mine tightly. He looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes and said softly,

"This isn't a dream. This is all happening. And it feels like a dream, because everything feels so perfect. But trust me. It _is_ happening. And you don't have to worry about anything, because I'll always be here, okay?"

I gazed back at Kurt, fighting some small tears in the corner of my eyes and just wanting them to disappear. I nodded slowly, and attempted a faint smile in compensation for the words that I just couldn't speak.

"Why don't we go for a walk? Just us."

"Okay," I managed to reply, extracting my hands from Kurt's to put the lid on my coffee and get ready to leave. Kurt did the same before standing up with me and putting his arm around my back and walking out of the coffee shop with me.

We found ourselves just walking along the cobblestone path aimlessly, just the two of us. Kurt's hand fell from my back as it reached for mine so that we were holding hands, like a true couple would, as we walked around the school grounds.

We came to the end of the path, which was situated behind the tool shed on the very edge of campus. No one came near here, so it was quiet, peaceful, and beautiful from the night's snowfall.

Kurt turned to face me as we stopped walking, and reached for my free hand with his (we'd finished our coffees and disposed of the cups on our walk).

"You make me so happy, Blaine," he whispered, pulling me in closer so that our chests were barely touching.

"You make me so incredibly happy, Kurt," I whispered back, resting my forehead on his.

Kurt leant in closer, pulling our hands in between us. He brought his chin close enough to softly rest his lips on mine, kissing me tenderly. We broke apart for a second before moving in to kiss again, and though it wasn't as urgent and forceful as our kissing had gotten on our date, it was still passionate. It was soft, it was beautiful and so _right_.

I'd known I'd loved Kurt from the moment I met him. 'Love at first sight', if you will. But it was that moment, much like the moment back in the park, that I knew just how much I loved him.

We broke apart again, our foreheads resting on each other yet again, and we stood there together. We didn't speak, we didn't move. That moment was all we needed.

That was, until we heard the distant sound of the school bell signalling we had ten minutes until homeroom started.

"Damn it," I said, "I really don't want to leave and do schoolwork right now."

"I know what you mean," Kurt said, squeezing my hands, "this is perfect."

"I suppose, there's one plus."

"What's that?"

"I can walk around with you, hand-in-hand, and tell everyone you're my boyfriend."

Kurt lifted his head and smiled at me. "I really, really like that word."

With that, we walked back to the other side of campus to begin another day's worth of school, hand-in-hand. There were many high-fives of encouragement from people we knew, teasing jokes from our friends and the Warblers, inappropriate songs from Jeff and gavel-banging from Wes. Kurt and I were smiling and laughing non-stop. Everything was good.

We had to separate for classes, but we always managed to meet up again at our lockers between each lesson. We made it through the entire day, soaking up every minute together and thinking of each other when we were apart. It was hard, at the end of the day, when I walked Kurt to the car and had to say goodbye for the day. But a soft kiss and a warm hug with the promise of coffee the next day was all it took to gain composure.

I walked back to my dorm room, opened the door and found Jeff sprawled across his bed, doing his homework.

"Hey," I said, removing my scarf, coat and blazer and putting them on the hooks by the door.

"Hey man," Jeff replied, not taking his eyes off his work. "You've got a package or something. I put it on your bed.

I walked slowly towards my bed, wondering who would possibly send me a package. There was a little brown box resting on my pillow, without a name or return address or any indicator as to who sent it.

I opened the package hesitantly, and inside was a pack of twelve chocolate and M'n'M cookies with a brief note attached to the top of the packet.

_We're not even yet, but this is for you - for the coffee dates, for our actual date, for the courage and for everything. _

_Kurt xo_

"You've got to be kidding me," I said, my face unable to hide the massive burst of admiration I felt upon seeing the cookies and reading the note.

"What's up? What is it?" Jeff asked from the other side of the room, taking his eyes off his work to look at me in confusion.

"It's Kurt... I can't believe him..."

There was a moment of silence too long not to be considered suspicious. I finally took my eyes off of Kurt's perfect, precise handwriting to look at Jeff, who had a massive, cheesy grin on his face.

"What now, Jeff?"

"IT'S KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME!"

"Kill me now."


	17. Chapter 17

_**Another chapter for you! Yay!**_

_**I hope you like it, tell me what you think! Review!  
>Also, who wants Klaine smut? The fluff shall continue, don't worry, but I'm considering adding some smut in there because they ARE teenage boys, and that's kinda expected, really.<strong>_

_**Let me know! Enjoy the chapter! REVIEW!**_

A week passed in the same routine: coffee at seven in the morning, school during the day, date night every third night and longer coffee dates on the weekend. Kurt and I spent almost every minute together possible. And I loved it. I couldn't complain. Every second I spent with Kurt was worth it. He was my boyfriend. He was all mine.

Exams were looming, though, and assignment due dates were creeping up too. Dalton had a habit of scheduling everything around the same time. It meant that _every_ student was out of their mind with stress and anxiety, worrying about equations, sentence structure for essays, font sizes and many other tiny details that can easily fail you.

Kurt and I were no exceptions to this rule.

After a few weeks of beautiful, couple-land bliss, we knew we had to concentrate on school. We'd both been neglecting our studies, and we weren't behind, but we really needed to focus to pass with good grades.

Kurt, being outstanding student he is, decided that we'd keep our coffee dates, but we'd postpone all nighttime dates until after all of our exams and assignments were through with. He also suggested only having one coffee date every three days, but the thought of that drove me insane. I _had _ to buy him coffee and breakfast every morning. I _had _to. Kurt brightened my day. I _needed _to see him in the mornings.

It was the Monday when exam block began, meaning that if you didn't have exams, you didn't have to come to school. It was a policy introduced in order to 'maximise study sessions' when really, most of the Dalton guys used it to hook up with the girlfriends from Dobry, our sister school.

Kurt and I were to have our usual coffee date, since we hadn't been able to catch up over the weekend (he forced me to ignore him and work on my assignments). And so the day began in its usual way, with Jeff singing KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME at a VERY loud volume (complete with a new rap verse) as I got ready and left, and with the walk to the coffee shop lasting for what felt like an eternity.

At last, I made it inside the coffee shop and saw that Kurt was nowhere to be found. _Excellent, _I thought, _I can beat him to it yet again. Get his breakfast and make him swoon. I love it when he's swooning. _

I went through the usual steps of ordering, collecting sugars, napkins and lids, and collecting the order and taking it to our usual table. I sat there for half an hour before suspecting something was wrong.

Sometimes, Kurt would take just that little bit longer to get ready. He'd been late before. It was usually a hair emergency, seeing as Dalton's uniform didn't usually leave him in a fashion crisis (though, as Kurt often pointed out, the Dalton uniform _was _a fashion crisis). But he usually called or sent me a text to let me know when he'd be late, especially if it'd been more than fifteen minutes. He'd said before that although I'm 'cute' when I'm worrying, it's also not something he ever wants me to do.

I thought I'd give him a call and see what was going on, not in a pushy 'you-must-come-and-see-me-now' kinda way, but just so that he knew I cared and that I was thinking of him.

I dialled Kurt's number and smiled as his beautiful grin appeared on my screen. I lifted the phone to my ear and listened carefully, hoping that Kurt would answer.

"Hey... Blaine..." he answered after the twelfth ring, sounded hoarse and exhausted.

"Hey... are you okay? You don't sound well."

"I'm hanging in there..." he trailed off as he erupted into a serious coughing fit.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"I..." Kurt couldn't help but cough in the middle of his sentences.

"I don't know exactly," he said, "I just feel like crap."

"Talk to me."

"I have this cough... and this migraine... and I spent last night in my bathroom puking, which gave me awful bathmat hair."

I chuckled at Kurt's concern for his hair rather than his health. It's the little things like that that made him so incredibly adorable.

"Have you taken anything for it? Aspirin?"

"No... no-one's been here for the past few days, I've been here on my own," he said in between coughing fits, gasping for air.

"What do you mean? Where's Finn? Burt? Carole?"

"Finn was invited to look at football scholarships or something at some university miles away, so they all went together."

"And they left you here?"

"Yeah."

I couldn't believe that Kurt was left on his own, without any support or help when he was in such pain. It hurt me to think that he was unwell and unhappy. I had to do something.

"Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm coming to look after you today, okay?"

"Blaine... you can't. Exams. Assignments. Warblers."

"They don't mean half as much to me as you do."

"You can't do that Blaine, I won't let you."

"What do you want me to pick up on my way?"

"Nothing. Blaine, you're going to school," Kurt complained, bursting into a coughing fit at the end of his sentence.

"See? Kurt, you need looking after. I'm coming over. What do you want me to get?"

"Nothing, go to school, Blaine."

"What do you want me to get, Kurt?"

"Go to school, Anderson."

"Tylenol?"

"...fine. But then you have to go to school."

"Sure, sure," I agreed, knowing full well that I wouldn't be returning to school once I'd reached him. I needed to look out for him.

"But... don't get into trouble, okay?"

"I won't, I promise. I'll be there as soon as I can."

" Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"Thankyou."

"I know," I said, hanging up the phone and shoving it into my pocket.

I then approached the lady at the counter and asked for a bag for the food and for two fresh coffees. I handed over the cash, loaded up the goods, and headed straight for my car, running into Wes and Jason on the way.

"Blaine, you know the apocalypse isn't happening until 2012, right?" Jason teased, noticing the massive parcel in my hands.

"Ha-ha, very funny, Jason. What are you doing here?"

"Jason and I are strolling around, conversing in regards to the next piece of repertoire the Warblers will perform. Any thoughts, Blaine?" Wes answered for them both.

"Just... nothing top 100, okay guys?"

"But you love Katy Perry...?" Jason asked in confusion.

"Yeah, but... Look, choose whatever you want, really. I'm cool with whatever's good for the team."

"...why are you so... antsy?"

"Uh... I really need to pee... so can I please just run past you guys? I'll catch up with you later."

"Sure, man. PEE AND BE FREE!" Jason shouted, catching the attention of several students and teachers passing by.

"Thanks! See you later!" I shouted over my shoulder as I sprinted towards the parking lot, which was conveniently located near the restrooms.

I rushed to my car so fast, in retrospect, it felt like a blur. All I knew is that Kurt needed me, and God help me, I was going to get to him and look after him as well as I could.

I probably broke a few laws, but I made it to the drugstore, bought Tylenol, all the cough drops on offer and some lavender oil, because I remembered Kurt mentioning that his mom would sprinkle it through his sheets to make him feel better, and I raced to the grocery store to pick up an eight-pack of Diet Coke too, seeing as Kurt would love it when he felt better. I also bought a small bunch of carnations, since I knew that he would appreciate having his room brightened a bit, and even though it all set me back around $150 and my card was linked to my parent's account, I didn't care. Kurt was my priority.

Again, breaking more laws, I raced to Kurt's house and hastily parked my car in his driveway. I loaded all of the shopping bags onto one arm and carried the coffee/breakfast tray/bag combination in my free hand, awkwardly pushing the doorbell with my elbow.

"It's open!" I heard Kurt call out.

_Shit, _I thought, _How the fuck am I going to do this gracefully! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE DAPPER, DAMMIT!_

I somehow managed to weave my hand through the shopping bags enough to twist the doorknob and shove it forwards. I kicked it closed with my foot and proceeded straight upstairs to Kurt's room, vaguely remembering the first time I stepped foot in there, ie. The Rachel Berry Party Drunkeness Night. Eugh. Poor Kurt.

The minute I reached the top of the staircase, I saw Kurt's bedroom door. I was excited to see him, yet worried as to what state I'd find him in. Was he down-playing it so I wouldn't get worried?

I twisted the doorknob, again, awkwardly, with my hand and let myself in, again kicking the door shut behind me.

"Hey," Kurt greeted me groggily, shifting in his place on his bed.

"Don't move, baby. I've got everything for you."

"Wow, Blaine. What is all this?"

I grinned, dumped everything on the vacant side of Kurt's bed and walked over to his side to kiss him on the forehead, kneeling down beside him.

"I bought everything you'll possibly need. I have Tylenol, tissues, cough drops... I bought you some Lavender Oil, because I know that's what your Mom used to do for you, and I bought you some flowers to make the room a little brighter for you..." I trailed off, taking his hand in mine and kissing his forehead once more.

" Blaine... this is too much. You're too good for me. I don't deserve this," Kurt started, before having yet another coughing fit.

I circled his back with my hand, pulling him in nice and close to comfort him as he suffered through a heavy coughing fit that was definitely doing some damage.

"Shh, I've got it. You need to get better," I said, kissing his forehead again when he stopped coughing and leaping up to organise the pills.

I refilled the cup beside his bed with water and placed the Tylenol into his palm, holding his hand for a fraction of a second, before tucking his blankets in tightly.

"Thank you, Blaine."

"It's okay. I'd do anything for you, you know that."

Kurt smiled sadly at me as he began coughing again, though thankfully not as viciously as he had been previously. When he'd calmed down, he took the Tylenol along with some of the cough drops I'd brought him as I ducked downstairs to make him some hot tea. When I returned, I found Kurt in yet another coughing fit, which made me really worry about him. That amount of coughing couldn't be good. It _had _to be extremely painful.

I walked over to him and rubbed his back as he painfully coughed his way through. Seeing him experience that much difficulty nearly made me cry. I couldn't stand to see him in pain. _I really do love him, _ I thought.

"Here, drink this, it'll help," I said, offering him the tea once his coughs had subsided.

He took the mug in both hands and took a sip, looking at me gratefully.

"Thankyou. You're an angel."

"I know. Have you had anything to eat?"

"No, I haven't been able to get up since I stopped puking and came in here."

"Well then, you need some breakfast!"

I practically jumped over Kurt to the other side of the bed, where I sat and organised the different bags so I could find the breakfast foods.

"Would you like a croissant, a bagel or a breakfast muffin?"

"...bagel, please."

I handed Kurt the bagel, along with some plastic cutlery and a small plastic plate (which was also conveniently loaded with different condiments for Kurt to choose from).

"Have I told you how perfect you are lately?"

"Uhm... Not to my recollection. Couldn't hurt to say it out loud, though."

"You're perfect," Kurt said, looking me right in the eyes as if he was about to kiss me.

"Yeah. I am. That must be why I..." I trailed off while I dug into one of the bags to find the flowers and hand them to him, "bought you these."

Kurt's face lit up, as if he was completely healthy for just a second.

"Holy shit, Blaine. This is all way too much!"

"No, it's not. It's what you deserve. You're my boyfriend, I'm supposed to look after you."

"Thank you. You have no idea how much I love these. Thank you."

"It's okay. You deserve it."

"If I wasn't all sickly and disgusting, I'd kiss you right now."

"I don't think you're disgusting, Kurt. You're still so goddamn beautiful."

"I think you're hallucinating. I'm even paler than normal, I've got baggy, purple eyes and don't even get me started on my hair."

"You're perfect. Now eat your breakfast."

"But-"

"No buts!

We ate our breakfast in silence, though neither of us minded: it was one of those moments where it didn't really matter if we didn't say anything. We were together, with each other, and that's all that mattered.

I continued to look after Kurt, showering him with cough drops, cups of tea and back rubs where necessary. I'd even brought my laptop with me so we could watch _Breakfast at Tiffany's _in bed.

I held him close to me as he coughed, though his fits weren't as severe with the addition of hot tea and cough drops. He must have been exhausted, because he fell asleep halfway through one of his favourite movies of all time – with Audrey Hepburn, none the less – and I found him sleeping peacefully with his head rested against my chest and his arm tight around me like a teddy bear.

I continued to watch the movie, trying to ignore the inner Jeff in my head singing KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME like a lunatic. It was hard, because that tune was just SO DAMN CATCHY, but soon enough I found myself just stroking Kurt's hair, watching him sleep.

I never knew he talked in his sleep.

He mumbled a few times, something incomprehensible, and then gripped me tighter.

He kept mumbling nonsensical sentences that just confused me, until I heard a familiar word.

"Blaine..." he said softly, his grip tightening even more so and his leg wrapping around mine.

"I love you... Blaine... I love you, Blaine..."


	18. Chapter 18

_**Hi again!**_

_**Hope you all enjoyed that last chapter – the Klainer in me was jumping up and down while I was writing it.**_

_**Thankyou for the reviews! Keep them coming, I love to hear what you do/don't like. Be warned, smut may be on the way. But I won't tell you when. I'm sneaky like that.**_

_**REVIEW, MY PRETTIES!**_

Holy shit.

Kurt just said he loved me.

Sure, it was in his sleep. But I remember reading somewhere that whatever happens in your sleep reflects the true you, or something like that. I don't know. It was in one of my younger sister's teen magazines, in amongst the Wax Or Shave dilemma and the PMS issues and _holy shit, did I just start thinking about PMS? _

Kurt said he loved me.

I heard him.

I _had _ to do something. I couldn't just let him do that... it was wrong of me to hear that and not wake him up.

Or was it?

What were you supposed to do in a situation like that? It's not like he was having a wet dream or anything – that would just be weird, even if we were boyfriends – but still... I had no idea.

I settled for just casually stroking his hair like I was before, without letting anything trouble me. I tried to keep my breathing calm and steady, and I attempted to keep my eyes on the TV so Kurt wouldn't freak out when he saw me staring at him.

I watched the movie for about ten minutes, with Kurt still sleeping and mumbling away, before my alarm on my phone woke him up. I'd set it so that Kurt could take his next pill dosage, but hated myself for setting an alarm when he'd groaned, wiped his eyes, and begun to sit up.

"What happened?"

"You fell asleep. Surely you know that."

"I do, I do... but... You were... I mean..."

"What?" I pulled him closer towards me, turning to look at him straight in the eyes.

"You can tell me anything, Kurt."

He was silent for a few moments before resting his head on my shoulder, sighing, and wrapping his arms around my waist like a teddybear.

"I just had the best dream. That's all."

I kissed the top of his head, smelling the beautiful vanilla and coconut shampoo he uses, and returned the warm embrace as lovingly as I could.

"I'm glad," I said, hoping that Kurt may take the hint and realise that I knew a little about his dream, "But now it's time for you to take some more pills."

"Eugh. Okay," he said, hesitantly releasing his arms from me to take the cup of water and the pills I was offering him. He gulped them down with a pained expression, then placed the cup on his nightstand and turned to face me.

"Blaine, I have to tell you something."

I sat up against the headboard of Kurt's bed, propping myself up against his pillows so that he had my undivided attention.

"Sure, go ahead," I said softly, allowing him to take my hand in his and hold it tightly.

"I can't thank you enough for all of this. You've done way too much for me and I'm possibly extremely contagious yet you're still here looking after me when you should be at school. It's too much..."

"Shh," I soothed Kurt, sensing that he was feeling rather sad and possibly guilty.

"You have nothing to thank me for. You would do the exact same thing for me, I know it. I'm here because I want to be. Because I can't stand to see you in such pain. Because... all I want is for you to be happy and healthy. And dammit, the minute you're healthy, I am kissing you like there's no tomorrow, because you are just so fucking beautiful I can't stand it right now."

"You can't kiss me, Blaine, I don't want you getting sick. Especially during exam block."

"I'd kiss you even if you were under quarantine, Kurt. I wouldn't be able to stop myself."

"...why? Why do you... why do you feel this way?"

"...What do you mean?"

"I just don't... I just don't understand how anyone could feel this way about me. Or how anyone could care about me so much that they risk getting sick, they spend hundreds of dollars on supplies and they miss several exams and study periods to nurse you back to health."

"Kurt," I began, feeling the tears welling in my eyes and leaning forward to wipe Kurt's tears from his beautifully pale face, "I'm just going to come out and say it. Okay?"

"Say what?"

"...I love you, Kurt. I love you so fucking much that it almost killed me to hear you sick and alone on the phone this morning. I love you so fucking much that I stopped caring when Jeff keeps singing that ridiculous song because it mentioned you. I love your beautifully smooth voice, your logical reasoning, the way you care so deeply about your family and I even love how anal you get about the clothes you wear, even if we're an hour late on one of our dates. I love you, Kurt. Every single bit of you. I love you."

I'd emphasised every word and tapped into every ounce of love for Kurt that I had in me to create that improvised and somewhat clichéd speech. I meant every word. And since I'd heard Kurt saying that he loved me, even in his sleep, I knew that it'd be okay for me to tell him how I felt.

"Blaine..."

"Fuck sickness, I'm kissing you now."

I leant forward without hesitation and held his face in my hands, kissing him softly yet urgently, wanting to show him exactly how I felt. The kiss was powerful: it was urgent, yet guarded, open yet closed and deep yet still innocent. It was perfect.

We broke apart after a while, Kurt gasping for breath since he hadn't been able to breathe the whole time. I offered him some water as he coughed from the sudden intake of air, and rubbed his back soothingly.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have leapt onto you like that."

"Blaine, I don't care. That was probably the best kiss I've ever had, even with all my germs and euck."

"Still... I should have respected your space."

"Space? Pfft. You just told me you love me. No space needed."

I couldn't help but grin.

"So... you're not weirded out, then? You know... by me loving you, and all?"

"Not at all... in fact... I must admit that I'm rather enamoured by you, Mr Anderson."

"Enamoured? I'm sorry, I don't understand that word," I teased, knowing full well where this was going since Kurt's arms were again tucked around me and his face was so ridiculously close to mine I could count all the eyelashes he had.

"You dick, Blaine. You know what I'm trying to say," he teased back, albeit looking slightly embarrassed.

"No, I don't... what are you trying to say, Kurt?"

"I'm trying to say," Kurt began, looking deadpan serious, "that I love you too, Blaine. More than you could ever know."

I smiled like a lunatic, jumped up and down on the bed and practically suffocated Kurt in hugs and kisses. I couldn't help myself. I felt like a child on Christmas Day, or like a chimpanzee at the zoo and _why the fuck were chimpanzees coming back into my fantasies?_

When I'd finally stopped smothering Kurt, partially because I was worried about his coughing fits but also extremely exhausted myself, I turned to face him one more time.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked him, caressing his cheek.

"You. Me. Us..." He trailed off before leaning against my shoulder once more.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked me.

"How happy I am to be here with you, in this moment."

"Is that all?"

I was a little confused by Kurt's last comment.

"Uhmm... Yes... why?"

"Because I _swear _I heard you mention something about a chimp."

_SHIT._


	19. Chapter 19

_**Hello lovelies!  
>As I am deathly sick and unable to leave my room, I have been writing viciously, hence the daily chapters. I hope you like this one, I'm a little unsure of it.<strong>_

_**Please, please, PLEASE review and let me know what you think. I need reviews, they keep me going. Thankyou to all the lovely people reviewing so far. And please, if you like this story, review and pass along to your friends!**_

_**For the fans of **_**KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME**_**, you just may be pleasantly surprised. I hope. Let me know what you think.**_

Kurt and I stayed in bed for the rest of the day, watching various Audrey Hepburn movies and setting pill dosage alarms. I'd made Kurt several cups of tea and filled hot water bottles to warm his icy cold feet. It got to 4:45pm when I realised that I would eventually have to go back to Dalton to avoid suspension for not abiding by exam block boarder curfew.

"Hey baby," I said softly, not wanting to worry Kurt or disturb him in any way, "I'm going to have to leave by seven to make it back to Dalton before curfew."

"That's okay... You weren't supposed to spend more than an hour here anyway, you naughty boy."

"You loved it," I teased, stroking his hair.

"But you know, I think I should call your dad, or someone. You need someone to look after you, Kurt."

"I'll be fine," Kurt said, shortly before he erupted into yet another coughing fit.

"...see? You need someone to make you cups of tea and to bring you your pills and to adjust the room temperature for you..."

"I just want you here. You're perfect."

"I can't stay, Dalton will kill me... I really want to, but..."

"So stay. Can't one of the guys cover for you?"

"I'm sure Jeff could try, but..."

"And you have your laptop, you can study here with me..."

I thought about it. Jeff probably could cover for me if absolutely necessary. I'd owe him, but it'd be worth it to make sure Kurt was healthy as soon as possible.

"Okay... let me go call Jeff, alright?"

Kurt squeezed my hand and let me go. "Sure. Come back soon though, you're really warm."

I chuckled as I moved towards the door, digging into my blazer pocket to find my phone. I dialled Jeff's number and held my breath, waiting for the wave of abuse that was surely about to hit.

"Hey, DITCHER! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, YOU IDIOT!" he greeted me.

"I've been here in Lima, looking after Kurt. And hey to you too," I chuckled.

Jeff's tone suddenly turned serious. "What do you mean, 'looking after Kurt'? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's just some virus or bug or something. But no one's home to look after him, he's literally been alone through it all without any medicine or anything."

"So you came to his rescue. Kudos, Anderson."

"Sure. Hey, can you do me a massive favour?"

"Depends on what it is..."

"Can you cover for me tonight? With the curfew check?"

"Man, I don't know... That's gonna be tough, they're not that lenient during exams."

"I know but... Kurt's alone. What if he started coughing through the night without anyone there just in case? Like... he could seriously hurt himself..."

"...Yeah. Okay. Uhm. I think I've got a CD of you singing somewhere. Maybe I'll put that in the bathroom and turn one of the showers on and just say that you're showering. You always sing in the shower. Maybe that'll work."

"Thank you so much, Jeff, you have no idea."

"I think I do. You owe me, man."

"I know. Thankyou so much. You know I wouldn't ask unless it was really important."

"Yeah. I know. It's Kurt."

"Yeah. It is."

"Okay. Well I'll email you all the info for exams and shit, okay? So you've got it all there and you can bust yo' ass to get organised."

"Thanks, Jeff. You're so incredibly awesome, it hurts."

"I know. Look, I've gotta go if I'm gonna cover for you."

"Sure. Thank you so much!"

"It's all right. Talk to you later."

"See ya, man."

"Bye, LoverBoy."

Jeff hung up before I could even respond to his new nickname for me. _Jesus Christ, _ I thought, _Now he's gonna call me 'LoverBoy' in front of everyone? _

I re-entered Kurt's room and moved towards his bed, shoving my phone back into my blazer pocket and picking up my laptop from the floor on the way.

"How'd it go?"

"It's all good," I said, jumping back onto the bed, moving closer to Kurt to wrap my arm around him, "Jeff's gonna try and cover for me, and he said he emailed me all the info I need. Can I get onto your wireless?"

"Yeah, it's unprotected."

"Wow. That's safe."

"I know, right? Meh. Just go for it."

"Thank you," I said, kissing the top of his head gently.

"Blaine, stop giving me butterflies, you'll make me cough and that won't be good."

"Terribly sorry. It's just hard to resist my beautiful, wonderful boyfriend."

"Baby, I find it hard to resist you too."

I smiled at Kurt's use of the word 'baby'. I'd called him that for a while now, but it seemed as though Kurt didn't really have a 'pet name' for me.

"What?" He asked, seeing the amused expression on my face.

"Nothing... just... you called me 'baby'."

"That I did... You call me baby all the time and it makes me feel so... I don't know. Special, I guess, to have you use a term of endearment when talking to me. I feel special, and I think you deserve to feel the same way."

"You're too sweet," I said, before leaning in and giving him a gentle, soft, chaste kiss on the lips.

"You're so gonna get sick," he said, grinning as we broke apart.

"I don't really give a tiny rat's ass."

"Language, mister!"

"Hey! I can swear if I want to!"

"Eh. Go ahead... It's kind of sexy anyways."

Until then, I'd been fiddling around with my laptop, logging on and waiting for the internet browser to load. I slowly turned my head to face Kurt.

"Uhm. Say what?"

"...it's kind of sexy when you curse... Sorry, was that a bit... weird? I shouldn't have said that... I'm sorry..." Kurt buried his head in his hands looking really embarrassed.

"No, baby, it's okay. I just didn't expect you to say that. It's totally fine to say it, you can tell me anything."

"But since we're dating and all, that's gonna seem really forward of me. As if all I'm trying to do is get in your pants."

"Hey, hey, hey... Look at me... Kurt, look at me..." I took the laptop off of my lap, placing it next to me so that I could shift my whole body to face Kurt's and take his hands in mine.

"It's okay to say things like that. It's okay to flirt with me. Hell, I'd be more than happy if you flirted with me. I'd be doing some serious flirting too."

"But... you don't think that's a step we're not ready to take?"

"It's just talking, baby. Nothing ever has to happen if you don't want it to."

"...You mean... you're ready to do... things?"

"Well, maybe not right now considering you're not feeling 100%. But I'm ready when you are... I just want you to know that you never, _ever_ have to feel pressured. I'm not going to hurt you. And you can say or do whatever you like. It won't change how I feel about you."

Kurt just sat there, shedding some silent tears before nodding his head so softly I would've missed it if I hadn't of been staring.

"I love you, Kurt. We've only been dating for... God, not even a month yet. Nothing has to happen until you want it to."

He leant over to kiss me softly, and I returned the kiss with a smile knowing that everything was going to be okay. After we broke apart, I wrapped one arm around Kurt's back and squeezed him around the waist while picking up my laptop with my other arm and logging into my Dalton email account.

I found two emails in my inbox: one from Jeff and one from Wes. I opened Jeff's email first, with Kurt reading over my shoulder (just like a real couple would) and read through all my exam info. Next, I opened the email from Wes.

**Email from: .edu**

**Subject: Warblers Set List**

**Message:**

**Hey Blaine. Or LoverBoy, as Jeff is now calling you.  
>Here's the link to the Warbler set list. Jeff put it together in a youtube video for you to watch and get the gist of it.<strong>

**Best wishes to Kurt, look after him well.**

**Kind Regards,**

**Wesley**

I chuckled at Wes' sign off – he'd obviously set it to look good for teachers or Warblers or something. It just seemed pretentious, but that's what you get when you give a man a gavel.

_Oh, that sounded dirty. Stupid innuendos._

I clicked on the video link, which took us to the Youtube video page. The video was titled "Warbler Set List – Blaine Anderson." It was a little weird: I was wondering why my name was included in the title if everyone would be getting it. I soon found out why.

No sooner had I seen the title had music come blaring out my speakers with some cheesy special effects on screen and a massive pan of Jeff's face. _Oh shit,_ I thought, _it's gonna be-_

"_**IT'S KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME**_

_**BECAUSE THAT BOY IS MIGHTY FINE**_

_**ALL BLAINE CAN THINK IS "HE'S ALL MINE"**_

_**IT'S KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME!**_

_PORCELAIN SKIN AND EYES SO BLUE_

_HE'S GOT A PRETTY RAD WARDROBE TOO_

_BLAINE THINKS HE'S SO BEAUTIFUL_

_WITH PORCELAIN SKIN AND EYES SO BLUE_

_**IT'S KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME**_

_**BECAUSE THAT BOY IS MIGHTY FINE**_

_**ALL BLAINE CAN THINK IS "HE'S ALL MINE"**_

_**IT'S KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME!**_

_BLAINE'S IN LOVE, HE'LL SERENADE_

_HIS LOVE, KURT, EVERYDAY_

_WARBLER HISTORY WILL BE MADE_

_WITH THE BLAINE & KURT LOVE PARADE!"_

I was frozen in shock. I couldn't believe what I'd just witnessed. _Thank God he didn't include his rap verse in there, _I thought, _otherwise Kurt would be just... shit! Kurt!_

"Uhm," I tried to speak, embarrassed and worrying about how Kurt would react.

Before I could say anything else though, I found Kurt in a fit of laughter that surely set him off on yet another coughing fit. I rubbed his back to ease him through the coughs, slightly amused by the hilarious expression on his face but also really wanting to find Jeff and punch him through to the next month.

"That. Was. Freaking. Hilarious!" Kurt stuttered in between laughs and coughs.

"You actually liked it?" I asked in bewilderment.

"How could I not? It's clear they only did it to mess with you... Nice lyrics. Jeff's creation, I'm assuming?"

"Yeah, he's been singing it since... well, since before I even asked you out."

"How on earth did he finish the song if he didn't know the outcome?"

"Well, it began as a one-liner, and progressed to what you just saw. Though he's added a rap verse to the end, I must say."

"A rap verse? That's freaking hilarious! I wanna hear it!"

"So... you're not mad?"

"Why would I be? Between Jeff's weird songwriting abilities and your bizarre fascination with chimps, this is the best relationship to be in! I'm glad _someone _wrote a song about it!"

I laughed it off nervously, not really wanting to carry the conversation on any further. Especially when I realised that I had a certain... _problem._

"Uhm, Blaine?"

"Yeah?" I replied, pushing my laptop closer to my chest so that it would cover... you know.

"You have a problem, don't you?"

"...maybe."

"...you should go take care of it. Go have a shower or something."

"No! I mean, no, it's okay. I'll stay here and just look after you," I said, avoiding his gaze because I was sure that the minute I'd look at Kurt I'd imagine various inappropriate scenarios that would probably result in my death and/or sexual frustration.

"Baby," Kurt turned on his sexy voice, a voice of which I'd never heard before, "Do you need some... help?"


	20. Chapter 20

_HOLY SHIT._

_WAS KURT OFFERING TO...? No, he couldn't be... I mean... What. The. Actual. Fuck._

"Uhm..."

"Because... I can help you, if you want me to," Kurt said seductively, stroking my arm with his pointer finger, looking straight into my eyes with a _very _inappropriate gaze.

"Kurt, seriously... I'm... I'm fine," I choked, still not able to look at Kurt nor able to hide how I was getting painfully sore from all that sexiness around me.

"You know... I wouldn't have to touch you... I could just sit here, under my covers, and take care of my own problem..."

My head whipped around to face Kurt, laptop nearly falling out of my lap therefore revealing the quite obvious bulge in my pants. Kurt's eyes followed the laptop before resting on the spot I'd tried so desperately to cover.

"What... what do you mean?"

"Well... Seeing you like this? _So hot,_" Kurt teased, leaning in closer and kissing my neck. "How could I resist you when you're so fucking sexy?"

"You mean to say you're...?"

Kurt dragged my hand underneath the covers to find the spot where Kurt was almost bursting out of his pyjama bottoms. As my hand cupped his erection, he and both moaned – for me, I couldn't believe I was actually TOUCHING Kurt like I'd only ever imagined doing, and for him, I could tell he was just as painfully turned on as I was.

"Get under the covers, Blaine," he said, breathlessly.

I wasted no time, though I fumbled around nervously before managing to kick off my shoes, take off my belt and hop underneath the covers next to Kurt.

No sooner had I pulled the sheets over me had Kurt leapt forward and attacked me, kissing me so passionately that it nearly rendered me breathless. I responded with such force I pushed him back onto his side of the bed, rolling over so that I was partially lying on top of him and my thigh was rubbing up against –

"_Holy shit, _Blaine."

"What?" I rolled back onto my side, concerned that I'd crossed a boundary.

"You're so... fuck! If we don't do this soon, I'm going to explode."

"Oh yeah?" I laughed at his choice of words as he reddened.

"Shut up, you know what I mean!"

"_...explode._"

"Shut up, chimp boy."

That really did shut me up. He had me. I had absolutely nothing to get him back with, and as I struggled to think of anything at all I could retort with, Kurt took his opportunity and reached over to cup the bulge in _my _pants.

"SHIT!"

"Did that feel good, baby?"

"Hmm-mm. So fucking good."

"Do you want to do something about it?"

I nodded, barely able to contain myself. Kurt removed his hand, and when I looked over to complain I saw that, underneath the covers, he was shimmying off his pyjama bottoms. I took the hint and removed my pants in the exact same way, removing my boxers at the same time as Kurt.

We were both there, semi-naked, under the covers in Kurt's bed. And while Kurt was quite sick (and that could probably be construed as really gross) it seemed... fitting.

"I can't stand this anymore," Kurt said quickly before his hand darted to start stroking his erection.

Seeing him like that, his head back against the pillow and stifling moans, made me want to come right then and there. I knew I had to do something. I was going crazy. Before I knew it, my hand was imitating Kurt's, and there we were, lying next to each other and practically quivering from the pleasure we felt.

"Please..." I mumbled, "talk to me..."

"Talk?" Kurt barely managed to speak.

"Talk... talk dirty, Kurt. Talk... talk dirty to me."

"I want you... I want _all _of you..."

"Oh Kurt..."

Both our hands started moving faster, almost synchronised in the way I saw the sheets moving when I managed to open my eyes for a brief moment. The pleasure coursing through my veins was almost too much to handle, and to see Kurt writhing next to me felt like something out of my wildest fantasies. The minutes seemed to escape like seconds. Our breaths became shorter and more desperate. I felt Kurt twitching, and my head whipped around to watch him as he jerked himself through what looked like the most beautiful, passionate and amazing orgasm.

"OH FUCK! BLAINE! FUCK!"

Seeing Kurt like that made me tingle and I felt myself getting harder, if that was even possible. Every single stroke I made caused my whole body to jerk backwards onto Kurt's pillows, and as I moved from the shaft to the head I closed my eyes and couldn't help but imagine Kurt's hand where mine was.

I felt movement beside me. I then felt Kurt's breath on my neck before he began kissing and nipping just underneath my jaw. It was so _hot. _So _sexy. _  
>Kurt's hand travelled up underneath my shirt and traced the indents in my chest. He teased my nipples, twirled at my chest hair and traced all the way down til-<p>

"_FUCK KURT! FUCK!"_

Kurt's hand had moved all the way down to cup my balls before shoving my hand off of my penis and taking its spot. I came right then and there, right after feeling Kurt's smooth hands squeeze my throbbing erection.

He jerked me through my mind-wrenching orgasm, moving with such vigour and still nipping at my neck the way he was before. Once he realised how sensitive I was, he removed his hand. I was finally able to open my eyes to look at him as he brought his hand, glistening with the remnants of my orgasm, to his mouth.

"Oh shit," I couldn't help myself as Kurt licked his hand clean before leaning over to kiss me. His tongue darted in and out, and the kiss was one of the most passionate we'd ever experienced. I could taste myself in his mouth, and that was just...

"Amazing," Kurt finished my thought for me. "That was so much better than _any _other time I've done that."

I chuckled. "You do that often?"

"Well... maybe."

"Oooh, the truth comes out. My boyfriend, Kurt Hummel: a slut."

"Oh, coming from Mr "Talk dirty to me"?"

"...You got me."

"I thought so..."

Kurt's hands intertwined with mine as he laid his head on my chest.

"God Kurt... you were so beautiful..."

"I could say the same about you."

"That was just... I never expected..."

"I know."

"And then it was like..."

"I know."

"I just..."

"...I know, baby. I know."

Kurt leant up to kiss me, more gently this time. It was soft, slow and beautiful. It was one of those lazy kisses that I knew I could just imagine experiencing with Kurt for the rest of my life... I began fantasising about the future... a wedding, a house, some kids, maybe living in New York with a pet chimp – _wait, no, what the fuck? ENOUGH WITH THE FUCKING CHIMPS! _I cursed myself viciously.

Kurt leant back to look at me.

"Thankyou."

"For what? I should be thanking you. You convinced me to do it. I had _no idea _you were _that _kinky!" I said with a wink.

"Well... you know... seeing you with a certain problem made the hormonal teenager inside me go crazy..."

"So it really was more for your benefit then?" I teased.

"Hush you, you liked it."

"Yes, yes I did."

We began one of those lazy kisses yet again, enjoying every movement and every second we were intertwined. Eventually, we cleaned ourselves up and got changed (Kurt loaned me some of his pyjamas) before returning to bed, breaking open the bags of cookies and other snacks that I'd brought and just watching movies in bed until we fell asleep.

Just before I fell asleep, as I watched Kurt sleeping peacefully against my chest, fingers intertwined with mine, I couldn't help but smile as I thought of exactly what that day had brought. We'd taken many steps that I certainly hadn't intended on taking, but at the same time they were all so beautiful... so _right..._ that I couldn't help but feel so incredibly lucky to have such an amazingly stunning man to call _my boyfriend_.

I was the luckiest guy in the world. I never wanted that feeling to end.

_**Thought I'd put the author's note down the bottom because I have a feeling many of you wanted to punch me based on how I ended the last chapter. Meh. I'm evil when I'm sick!**_

_**I hope you liked this one. I'm a little unsure of it – it's my first attempt at anything slightly smutty – so please review and let me know what you liked/didn't like. PLEASE. REVIEW. And share with your fellow Klainers/gleeks/DCriss appreciators... if you want to. I won't force you. (:**_

_**Thankyou to all the lovelies reviewing – especially to those wishing me to get better! Thankyou! I really appreciate it! I am getting better, slowly... I think. (:**_

_**ANYWHOO tell me how you liked this chapter. I hope you did. Review, my pretties!**_

_**Xx**_

_**PS: KurtieBear Cuddle Time will be making many more appearances in the future. Don't you worry. ;)**_


	21. Chapter 21

_**Thankyou for all the lovely reviews – special thanks to I Am A Boss Zefron Poster (Love the name, btw), stupidamericanidioms91, DracosMate and LopeDogg for your numerous reviews (:**_

_**Please keep the reviews coming – and keep telling me what you like and what you don't! **_

_**Hope you like this chapter. It's a bit twisty and a bit different. But I hope it's okay.**_

_**PS- the rap verse to KurtieBear Cuddle Time shall be making an appearance in the next few chapters. It's coming, lovelies!**_

_**PPS- please review. I'm begging you. I need inspiration. And faith. And laughs. And emails, because my inbox is slightly depressing now. And chimps, because I'm Blaine, apparently.**_

"Blaine, wake up, baby."

It was 7:01am, according to Kurt's alarm clock, and I was woken by movement beside me and the feeling of my boyfriend close by.

"Hey," I said groggily, attempting to sit up, rub my eyes and say a proper good morning.

I felt Kurt's lips firm against mine as I felt his hand grip my arm as if he was holding on and never letting go. It was more than I expected, especially at this hour.

"Are you okay, baby? What's up?" I asked him as he leant back and turned towards his nightstand.

"Everything's fine," he replied with a chipper tone, before facing me with two mugs of coffee in his hands. "I brought you something."

"Coffee at seven," I said, voice soft with adoration and amazement. Kurt was continuing our tradition, and he'd beaten me to the punch.

"Of course. You deserve it, especially after you've been looking after me."

"Don't you feel like crap, though? You should have stayed in bed."

"Yeah, but after everything you've done... I had to say thank you somehow. Besides, coffee at seven is our thing, and... it wouldn't feel right if we didn't do it in some way or another."

I took the coffee Kurt offered me and leant in to kiss him on the cheek. "I know what you mean. It's important to me too. Thank you, beautiful."

"How'd you sleep?"

"Very well. Peacefully. I had some very good dreams. You?"

"Same... what did you dream about?"

"Oh, it's nothing," I shrugged it off, not wanting Kurt to know just how obsessed I was with picturing every possible aspect of our future together, right down to the detail of the wallpaper in our daughter's room.

Kurt moved in closer so that he was practically sitting in my lap. He took my hand and held it gently.

"Tell me. I wanna get to know you better than I do now," he said before placing a kiss on my cheek.

"Okay... I dreamt about us..." I trailed off, not sure how much detail I should go into.

"Us?" Kurt asked with a smile plastered on his face. "What about us?"

"Well... the future, and stuff. You and me, together and... yeah."

"So, what are we like in the future?"

"You really want to know? You're not gonna get all... weirded out by me?"

"Trust me," he said, squeezing my hand, "that's not going to happen."

Kurt leant in to kiss me properly, soft, sweet and gently. He gave me courage.

"You and I, we're... we're married. And we live in a penthouse apartment in New York where you're a hit broadway musical director. We have twin girls. They're beautiful. And we spend every night making dinner together, talking about our day, feeding the girls, tucking them in and then going to bed ourselves and just being together..."

I trailed off again, unsure how to continue. The thought of this future with Kurt always made me giddy, but I didn't know how Kurt would react. I certainly wasn't expecting the reaction he had.

He responded by putting his coffee back on his nightstand before throwing his arms around my neck and kissing me deeply. His lips moved against mine as if they were synchronised, and if I hadn't already drunk my entire coffee quickly beforehand, it would've been all over the bed as my hands forgot what they were doing to hold onto Kurt's waist.

"That sounds amazing," Kurt said softly with his nose touching mine. "I want all of that."

"You do?" I asked, ecstatic.

"Yes. I do. It sounds so... perfect. _You're _perfect, Blaine."

"I love you."

"I really, really love you too."

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Kurt, baby, you're throwing up. I _have _to call your dad. He needs to know."

Kurt had taken a turn for the worse. We both thought he'd gotten better but he somehow managed to find his way back into the bathroom, on all fours with his head over the toilet bowl.

"No," he gasped, "if you call him he'll come and you'll have to leave."

"That's better than you staying here like this. He can look after you better than I can, baby," I said, walking over to him to kneel down and rub his back.

"But I can't let you go. I need you. I just –"  
>Kurt couldn't finish his sentence as the need to throw up overwhelmed him. I stayed with him, soothing him and rubbing his back all the way through it and offering him a cloth from the basin to wipe his mouth with.<p>

"Hon, you need your dad. I love you and I'll take care of you as best as I can. But you still need your dad."

Kurt nodded sadly into the toilet.

"Alright. I'll go call him, okay? Let him know what's happening."

"Don't... don't tell him _everything_," Kurt said, looking over his shoulder at me with a wink that brightened his scarily green face.

"Everything?" I asked, before realisation hit me. "Oh... He won't _ever _know about that, Kurt. _Ever._"

"Good to know," Kurt said softly before cringing and returning to the bowl.

I exited Kurt's ensuite, leaving the door open so that I could run back in if I needed to. I walked over to get my phone off of the nightstand.

"Baby, is it okay if I borrow your phone to get his number?"

"-yes," Kurt choked out.

I knew I had to get his father home ASAP. Kurt _really _wasn't well, and I probably hadn't done him any favours in giving him food and drink without checking out his symptoms or getting him to a doctor for actual prescriptions.

I found Burt's number in Kurt's contacts (after bypassing the cute screensaver of Kurt and I on our first date, sitting in my car outside the park), and dialled on my phone knowing that if Burt heard my voice from Kurt's caller ID, he may have assumed the worst. Burt answered after four rings.

"This is Burt," he greeted, obviously confused as to the hidden number.

"Hi Burt, it's Blaine Anderson. How are you?"

"I'm fine thanks, Blaine. This is a little unexpected. Everything okay with my boy?"

"Well, that's what I'm calling about."

Burt's tone changed to serious and concerned within a second. "Is he okay? Is he hurt? Was it that bully from McKinley?"

"No, no, no! He's not _hurt_. He's just really sick and probably needs some parental help right now."

"Oh. How bad is he?"

"Well, he's throwing up in his ensuite as we speak. He's been throwing up since you left, though yesterday it'd calmed down a bit. Today, though, it seems we're back at square one."

"...are you there with him?"

"...Yes, sir, I am."

"How long have you been there?"

"I've been here since around eight or nine yesterday morning, sir. I called Kurt and heard he was unwell so I thought I'd try and get him some tea and something to eat..."

"Blaine?"

"Yes, sir?"

"As weird as it is that you've just stayed over with my teenage son without an adult in the house, I'm glad you're there. What does he need?"

"Well, I'm not sure, exactly. He might need someone to take him to a doctor, though I thought that should probably be left to you or Carole seeing as you'll need health care details and insurance and everything."

"Okay. Well... I'll talk to Carole and we'll be home by tonight at the latest, okay?"

"Sure. Sounds great, I'll let Kurt know."

"Just- Can you please stay there with him? Until we get there?"

"Of course, Burt. I'm not leaving Kurt like this. There's no way I could even think of it."

"...You really care for my son, don't you?"

"Yes, sir. I really, really do."

"Thank you, Blaine. I'm – I'm glad you're there."

"Anytime. I'd do it all over again."

Burt sounded slightly taken aback by my keenness to look after Kurt, as if he was starting to realise just how serious our relationship had become after just a month.

"I'll call you later and let you know what the plans are, okay?"

"Sure thing. I'll talk to you later."

We hung up after exchanging and saving phone numbers for future reference. I then heard Kurt's retching become more forced and drastic and I raced into the bathroom, shoving my phone in my pocket along the way.

"Are you okay?"

"Water!" he gasped, "please!"

I turned to the basin where Kurt kept his glass and filled it up with water. I knelt back down next to him and handed him the water, urging him to take small sips so as not to induce further vomiting. He cringed as the water hit his throat and went down.

"It's okay, baby," I soothed him, wrapping my arms around his back and holding him close.

"It's not," Kurt said as I noticed tears sliding down his cheeks. "This isn't exactly how I want you to see me."

"Kurt, I don't care if your hair isn't perfect, or if you're not wearing the tightest damn pair of pants in the world. You're beautiful, even now. I just want to take care of you."

"Thank you," Kurt said, closing his eyes and digging his head into the crook of my neck.

"Anytime, baby. I love you."

My phone started ringing, and I answered it without even looking at the caller ID, thinking it was Burt.

"Hello?"

"Blaine. It's Josh."


	22. Chapter 22

_**Hey guys,**_

_**This is a relatively short chapter – I've got assignments coming out my ears so writing time is limited. But I couldn't help but update this as I just felt this one write itself. I hope you like it.**_

_**Please review away. Please, I'm begging you, it inspires me to keep writing and prevents me from deleting everything in my usual "I'M SO CRAP AT THIS" rage. I'm surprised I haven't lost it thus far!**_

_**And I'm getting better. Though the doc's put me on vocal rest. And I'm a singer. So had to withdraw from competitions and auditions and shiz, so I'm kinda depressed. Damn laryngitis.**_

_**Reviews would cheer me up though!**_

_**x**_

"Blaine? What's going on?"

I looked over to see Kurt's eyebrows furrowed with concern. He'd just seen me hang up the phone and throw it across the room. He'd seen me launch myself at the wall, only barely able to restrain myself so as not to damage anything. He'd just seen me slide down the wall and crumble into a ball on his bathroom floor.

"I can't... Not now. Okay?"

"Blaine. I'm not letting this slide. I may be sick but you're not right. Nobody has _that _kind of reaction to a ten second phone call."

"Kurt. I'm begging you. I can't..." I struggled to find the words to describe just how I felt. All my past emotions: hurt, betrayal, confusion, neglect... they all came rushing back and they made me feel more vulnerable than ever. And what had enraged me most was Josh's ability to make me feel so immensely shitty in three words.

Kurt shuffled over to put _his _arm around _me,_ mirroring what I'd been doing for him for the past few hours as he was sick. He pulled my chin towards him so I couldn't look anywhere else but right at him.

"Please, Blaine. Let me in. Let me help you."

"...You're sick. This isn't the time..."

"For fuck's sake, Blaine!" Kurt's yelling threw me off. I'd never heard him raise his voice like that. Though he kept his arm tight around my back, and it remained there in a loving embrace, Kurt was raising his voice to me. Something about his tone made me remember why I loved him. He actually cared about me.

"It was Josh."

Those were the only words I had to say. Kurt understood. His face fell and his head dropped into his hand. He groaned, grunted and muttered many curse words under his breath before turning to me yet again.

"He's not going to come near you. He's not going to hurt you again. I won't let him pull that psychotic bullshit on you. Okay? You're with me. You're fine. Everything's going to be fine because _I'm _your boyfriend and _I _love you."

Kurt kissed me on the forehead and then stopped moving. I looked up at him in a moment of panic as he froze and went a bright shade of green.

"Crap!" he said, untangling himself from me and launching across the bathroom floor to the bathroom. I immediately went to his side to rub his back, though the circular motions were much slower and much less deliberate than they had been before. It was as though I was floating aimlessly – as if I was having an out-of-body experience. I could remember the motions I went through but I couldn't remember actually going through with them. The only sounds that even remotely brought me back to reality were the sound of Kurt's voice and the sound of my phone ringing from the corner of Kurt's room where it landed.

I stopped patting Kurt's back just as he stopped retching. We both heard my ringtone. I knew that I had to go and look at my phone, because if it was Burt I'd _have _to answer. But I didn't want anything to do with it. It felt as though my phone was contaminated because it had brought a trace of Josh back into my world. A world where I was finally happy.

"You have to get it," Kurt whispered, "It could be Dad. If it's not, I'll answer. Okay? It'll be fine," Kurt soothed me as I struggled to get on my feet and move towards my phone.

I picked it up hesitantly and sighed in relief upon seeing Burt's name on my screen.

"Hello?" I answered, somewhat breathlessly.

"Hi Blaine, it's just me. Everything alright? You sound breathless?"

"_Why is he breathless! Mom! Why is Blaine breathless? He's been in Kurt's _room_, Mom! Come on! He's a boy!"_ I heard Finn in the background, oblivious to what should have been an adult conversation.

"Yeah, everything's fine, Burt. I just had to run to the phone because I was helping Kurt, he'd just been sick again."

"Again?"

"Yeah, he's been attached to the bathroom floor for a while now."

"Christ. Well you let him know that I'm on my way, okay? We all are. Finn's rescheduled his appointments and we're coming home right now, though we'll probably only make it back by six. Is that okay?"

"Burt, that's fine. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving him."

"Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"...You're a really good guy. I like you. I... I like what you're doing for Kurt. Shows character."

Burt's words caught me by surprise.

"Oh... Well... thanks. That means a lot. I know Kurt thinks so highly of you, so for you to say that... just... thank you..." I managed to get out, still shaken by Josh's call but hopefully able to convince Burt that everything was fine.

"Anytime. Look, I've gotta go gas up the car. Does Kurt need us to pick up anything on the way?"

"Some herbal tea would probably be good, for when he feels slightly better in the stomach. And I _know _he's out of his facewash and moisturiser. Since he's been sick, he's been washing his face so much, it's crazy."

Burt chuckled, "Haha, well then he mustn't be dying anytime yet. That's my boy. Alright. I'll get going now. Thanks for taking care of him. We'll get there as soon as we can."

"No rush, Burt. I'll be here."

"Thanks Blaine. Bye," Burt said warmly.

"See you soon. Bye," I signed off as warmheartedly as I could, though as soon as I hung up the phone and the charade was over, I felt the cold gush of dark emotions wash over me.

"Blaine?"

"Yeah, Kurt? You okay?" I sprinted back into the bathroom.

"I'm fine, I just... sit with me, okay?"

"Of course," I said, putting my arm around him and holding him tight as we both sat there on his off-white tiled floor.

"I want you here because... because you're taking care of me. But I want to take care of you too. And I want you to know that... that I'm going to do everything I can to stop Josh from hurting you."

"I know," I whispered, head burrowing itself into the crook of Kurt's neck. "I know."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kurt and I awoke a few hours later, mysteriously back in Kurt's bed. We woke from the sound of knocking on the door and the sight of Carole walking in with a tray of food and drink.

"Hi boys," she said softly, placing the tray on it's legs in the middle of the bed, leaning over Kurt to do so.

"How're you both feeling?"

"Like crap, really," Kurt responded for us both. "How'd we get in bed?"

"Your Dad, Finn and I practically raced here. We came straight into your room to see how you were and found both of you sleeping on the floor of your bathroom with tear stained cheeks. Burt and Finn carried you both to bed. We figured you guys needed a softer, warmer place to sleep."

"Thank you," I said as warmly as possible. "I should probably get going then, hey?" I attempted to untangle myself from the bedsheets but Carole had somehow made it to my side of the bed to push me back and tuck me in.

"Absolutely not," she said, stroking my now untamed curls off of my forehead. "Burt and I talked about it. You've done so much for Kurt and when we saw you... You looked broken too. You can stay here as long as you want."

"But... Dalton... I have a curfew and I don't think my roommate can cover for much longer."

"We've already spoken to Headmaster Davidson about the two of you. We told him that you were looking after Kurt because there was no one here to do that, and in doing so you're not feeling too well yourself."

"You lied for me? You... you covered for me? That's kind, Carole, but I can't –"

"Shh, Blaine, honey. You're not feeling well. Maybe it's emotional, but... I can see it in your eyes."

Carole took my hand and held it for a few seconds, squeezing it ever so gently, before moving towards the door.

"You boys have some chicken noodle soup there, and some water and some garlic bread. I also brought you some tea. I want all of that consumed by the time I come back, okay?" Carole had gone back to the light-hearted tone that made Kurt relax instantly.

"Thank you," Kurt said gratefully on behalf of the two of us as Carole exited the room, smiled at us both and shut the door behind her.

"This is so kind of your parents, Kurt," I began, ripping a piece of garlic bread and dunking it into the soup, "They're _making _me stay with you. That's kind of cute."

"They like you, Blaine. It's no surprise. And they know how much you mean to me."

Kurt leaned in and kissed me ever so softly for just a few seconds, pouring all of his love and warmth into such a small action.

"I love you, Blaine."

"I love you too. You know that."

"I know... but ever since we said it the first time, I still get really giggly and all fluttery!" Kurt said, trying to hide behind a _very _wide grin that was so beautiful, it actually made me forget my troubles for a little while and concentrate on my beautiful, stunning, amazing boyfriend.

"I know exactly how you feel..." I trailed off, lost in his beautiful blue eyes.

"Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but... do you think it's a good idea to give Jeff a heads-up about... you know..."

I sighed and bit into my garlic bread. "Probably," I mumbled through my food, without wanting to say much more.

"Okay. After dinner... I'll borrow your laptop and send him an email."

I threw Kurt a grateful look. I knew he was sincere and that he was a man of his word. He was _not _going to let Josh get to me. I felt empowered knowing that I had the courage of such a strong-willed man behind me. I could get through all this Josh shit. I could do it.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

That night, after the soup and after the countless thermometer checks by Carole throughout the night, Kurt and I had fallen asleep again. We'd fallen asleep in each other's arms, and as Kurt fell asleep before me I couldn't help but notice how he'd wrapped himself around me so tightly. It was as if he literally was protecting me through his subconscious. Though I had many nightmares about the things Josh was capable of doing, every time I woke up in a sweat, I felt Kurt's cold feet (he was sick, after all) and warm chest, and his heart beating away. I felt his body moving gently with every breath. He was beautiful. He made me feel calm. He made me feel safe. Kurt was my everything.

But what if I lost Kurt?

But what if Josh was out to take _everything _away?


	23. Chapter 23

_**So here we go: a bit of a dramatic chapter, this is. I hope you like it, even though it might be a bit... well, I'll let you form your own opinions!**_

_**Please review, it lets me know whether or not I'm on the right track with this. Share with your friends if you like it. If not, that's cool too. Have a break. Have a Kit Kat. (:**_

_**Exam time is looming, so I'm writing as much as possible to keep the steady posts going. Again, please review, it'll remind me to update too. **_

_**Also, depressing chapter is depressing, funny bits are funny, and insane author is insane. A little warning for you. x**_

A week after Josh's phone call, Kurt and I were back at school, healthier than we'd been in a long time. We'd been granted special consideration for our exams and didn't have to complete them, which meant we only had to work on our assignments. Since I _suck _at French, Kurt stayed back at school and came back to mine and Jeff's dorm room to help me with my assignment.

"It's _parlez vouz anglaise, _Blaine. _Anglaise _starts with an 'a'," he said, pointing to the mistake on my paper.

"But... _anglaise _means English, right?"

"Yeah. But you say AHN-GLAYSE, don't you? Makes sense to have an 'a', doesn't it?"

I sighed, dropping my pencil back on my desk and resting my head on my folded arms.

"This is useless. I suck at French."

"You're doing fine; you just need to have more faith in yourself. You're better than you think you are."

"Kurt... I can barely concentrate on any of my subjects. How the heck am I supposed to _improve?_ I just can't..."

"I know, baby, I know," Kurt said softly, pulling me into a tight hug.

I'd been having trouble dealing with the fact that a) Josh had contacted me, and b) that he'd been ABLE to contact me. I'd changed my number a week or so after he left, in the hope that I'd never have to deal with him again. I knew, as an alumnus, he'd be back at Dalton for some event or other. I could avoid him. Besides, they switched our dorm rooms every year to accommodate the freshmen. If he tried to find me somewhere in the boarding house, he'd have a hard time doing it.

"He's not going to get to you," Kurt whispered in my ear. "You're safe."

"I know... it's just... I'd moved on. You know?"

"I know." Kurt planted a kiss on my cheek and brushed a stray curl way from my forehead just as Jeff entered the room.

"Hey guys," he said, carelessly dropping his bag on the floor and kicking his shoes off.

"Hey Jeff," I said, standing up and shoving my French books back into my bag.

"Blaine, you weren't done with your French!"

"I couldn't give a fuck about French right now," I snapped, suddenly angry.

"Whoa, dude, calm down. Kurt's just looking after you," Jeff said from where he'd perched himself on the sofa, checking his text messages.

I sighed. "I know... I'm sorry, Kurt. I didn't mean to snap," I walked over to Kurt and put my hands on his waist.

"It's okay," he replied with a small smile, "I know this... this isn't you. It's not your fault and it'll get better."

"Thankyou... I just... God. I don't deserve you."

"Of course you do," Kurt reached up and put his arms around my neck and whispered, "you're the kindest, most gentle, most caring man I've ever met. I love you, Blaine. That's not going to change."

I had to stop the conversation before I started crying, and I could already feel tears welling up. I leant in to give Kurt a gentle, chaste kiss, and extracted myself from his arms to walk him out.

"Are you ushering me out, sir?" Kurt said in mock offense.

"Yes," I said, quickly pecking him on the lips. "You need to get home before dinner, we don't want your parents getting upset. And we know Finn can eat, I'd prefer it if you actually got to eat your portion tonight," I said with a grin.

"...Good argument, I suppose. I'm going to call you before I go to sleep though, okay?"

The thought of hearing Kurt's voice soothe me before I tried to sleep made me smile. Just knowing that my boyfriend cared enough to delay his own sleep when he was just as sleep deprived as I made me feel so... loved.

It was a feeling I hadn't ever really felt before.

"Sure. I'll be waiting," I said, coming in closer to say a proper goodbye.

"Uhm, guys? I know you love each other and all, but can you do that outside? Please? Like... it's weird."

I winked at Kurt and pulled him back towards my bed before kissing him passionately. He responded with just as much force as I was applying, and before I knew it he'd managed to take my blazer off and throw it across the floor.

"BLAINE! KURT! SERIOUSLY!"

We ignored Jeff's pleas and kept making out on the bed in front of him. It was really deep and passionate and although it should have been awkward with Jeff in the room, it was rather... hot.

"GUYS! I MEAN IT! DON'T MAKE ME DO IT!"

"Do what?" I asked breathlessly in between the deep kisses that had mine and Kurt's tongues battling for dominance and our hands holding onto whatever they could.

I heard rap backing music. _Oh shit, _I thought, _it's the rap verse to –_

"IT'S KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME  
>AND BLAINE'S ALL SMITTEN<br>CUTE AS A PUPPY  
>PURRIN' LIKE A KITTEN<br>HIS GELLED UP HAIR  
>IS OH-SO MESSED UP<br>AS KURT'S FINGERS RUN THROUGH IT  
>AND "OH, IT'S SO HOT!"<br>THE SEXUAL TENSION  
>IS DRIVING EVERYONE INSANE<br>AS BLAINE LUSTS AFTER KURT  
>AND KURT SEDUCES BLAINE<br>WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? WELL  
>THAT'S NOT MY INFO TO DIVULGE<br>BUT I THINK YOU COULD GUESS  
>WHEN YOU SEE<br>THE SIZE OF BLAINE'S **BULGE!**"

Kurt had gone from turned-on to amused to mortified in just the first half of Jeff's rap verse to _KurtieBear Cuddle Time_.

"Okay, okay!" I shouted over the backing track, "We're done! Enough with the song, homie!"

Jeff switched off the music and turned to me in a whiny, toddler-voice. "But BLAAAAAAAAAAINE, there's moreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"I know there is, which is why I need to get Kurt out of here before you give him more reasons to dump me," I said, sliding off the bed effortlessly and dragging Kurt up with me. I walked him to the door yet again, but this time without a word. We kissed quickly yet softly, and I opened the door to let him out.

"I'll talk to you later," Kurt said with a squeeze of my hand before skipping down the hall and trying to fix his messy bed-hair along the way.

I closed the door behind him and I couldn't help but smile. I was in love with the most beautiful boy. What could possibly ruin what we have?

Then, my phone rang from across the room.

After Josh's last phone call, I'd changed all of my ringtones so that I'd know when an unknown or a blocked number was calling me without having to look at the screen. I looked at Jeff, and since Kurt had filled him in on everything, he knew that the generic ringtone was something to worry about.

"Is that... Is that your phone?" he asked, slowly standing from the sofa to walk over to where my phone lay on my nightstand.

"...Yeah," I gulped, unable to say anything else.

Jeff reached forward and took my phone, answering it for me.

"Hello?"

I couldn't make out what the other person was saying, but the look on Jeff's face didn't leave much to the imagination.

"You need to stop calling. Okay? Just stop."

Moments of silence went by before I saw Jeff's face redden and his eyebrows furrow.

"You need to shut the fuck up and leave Blaine alone, okay? He doesn't need this. You're a dick. Stop calling and leave everyone the hell alone!"

Jeff's newfound rage was shocking, though it also gave me this feeling of protection. It was as though this army of support was being built around me.

"Blaine is HAPPY. Okay? What you did? There's no excuse for it. You're a sorry excuse for a person. Blaine should be given credit for having the strength to get over you and be HAPPY. So do us all a favour and get lost. Next time you call, I'm calling the police for harassment."

Jeff hung up the phone and threw it onto my bed where it landed with a soft thud. He then quietly moved over to where I was standing, frozen and rigid, and wrapped his arms around me in a comforting, brotherly hug.

"It's okay, man," he said, "We've got your back."

"I just... I can't... No one knows..."

Jeff leant back and looked at me right in the eyes.

"No one knows what, Blaine?"

"I... nothing..." I couldn't talk about it. I didn't want to talk about. All I had running through my head were my past nightmares. The images came flooding back just at the very thought of telling Jeff everything – the _everything _I hadn't even told Kurt.

I loosened my tie and pulled it over my head, throwing it away carelessly without a clue as to where it went. I then undid my belt, again, throwing it on the floor and not giving a damn about where it fell, and jumped onto my bed.

"Blaine," Jeff's voice was shaky and deeper than usual. "You need to... if there's something we don't know, you need to tell us. We need to help you."

"I... I can't tell you," I whispered, unable to stop the tears from falling now. "You'll think less of me. You'll... it's just too horrible."

"You can't be blamed for anything when it comes to that class-A dick. I only want to help you, Blaine."

I thought about it for a minute, biting my lip, before deciding that I really did have to confide in _someone_.

"You can't tell Kurt."

"Blaine, I-"

"I have to be the one to tell Kurt. And I... I can't. Not yet. I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone. Okay?"

Jeff sat at the foot of my bed, moving my iPhone to the side.

"Okay. Just tell me everything."

I took a deep breath in before beginning to tell my story.

"I... It was that night of the graduation. B- before I'd caught him making out with that other guy... Before the Warblers were even due to meet up for soundcheck. He... Josh found me in the communal bathrooms... I... I was in the shower..."

A sudden look of realisation appeared on Jeff's face as I heard a gasp from his direction. He reached forward and grabbed my arms.

"Blaine... he didn't... did he?"

"...Yes."

Jeff's head fell forward and his face showed only one expression: horror.

"What... what _exactly _did that bastard do to you?" He asked forcefully.

"...everything... and I tried... I tried to get out, but... he had his hand over my mouth and I – I tried, but I couldn't scream, Jeff... I couldn't..."

I broke down, unable to say anything further with the lump forming in my throat and nausea creeping up on me. I felt physically ill – the same feeling I felt after being violated by Josh. I felt shaky, nervous, and so... alone.

"It's okay, Blaine," Jeff rushed to sit next to me and pull me into his arms. "It's okay... he's nowhere near us. He can't hurt you."

"I just feel..."

"I know. It's... Christ. I can't believe you kept something like that to yourself..."

"I thought... he was gone... and with Kurt, I'm happy. Kurt is my everything."

"I know, B. I know. And Kurt will always be your everything. Okay? Kurt loves you, and the Dalton guys, we're all here for you too. Always."

I don't know how long Jeff was comforting me, but I know I drifted off to sleep in that time. I awoke a couple of hours later to the sound of my phone blaring with Kurt's ringtone.

"I got it," Jeff said, moving to silence it.

"It's okay, it's Kurt," I said, leaning forward and answering the phone.

"Hey baby," I heard him say warmly. "How are you?"

"Haha, since you left? I'm miserable!" I said in my lame attempt to hide any of my wild emotions that had come out from my confession.

"I'm glad I can cheer you up now," Kurt said cheekily.

"Oh, me too."

"Blaine?" Kurt's tone turned serious.

"Yeah?"

"I just want to tell you... and I know I've already told you this, but... I love you. I really, really do. I love you. I'm _in love _with you. And I'm always here."

"I love you too, Kurt," I responded with a whisper. "More than you know."

Kurt's sudden change in disposition proved helpful in easing my negative thoughts and feelings. Kurt kept talking until I fell asleep, and I later found out that Jeff had hung up for me and tucked me into bed.

I fell asleep to a never ending round of "I love you" and "you mean everything to me" and "you're my world". It was cheesy and cliché and I'm sure Kurt would have thought those exact things while saying them. But for me, it was everything I needed to remember that the army of support around me was big enough to fight everything, even the demons of my past.


	24. Chapter 24

_**Hello to all!  
>Here's another chapter for you. I've been slack in updating, I know, but it's just me dealing with assignments and my upcoming exams and also just dealing with people in general. People are annoying sometimes. Unless they're Warblers. I like those people.<strong>_

_**You know the drill. Let me know how you like the chapter. Thankyou to all the lovelies who are writing reviews and giving me good feedback – I'm trying to implement everything into my writing so if there's anything you want to see me include/exclude, please review and let me know!  
>Oh and please let me know what you thinkhow you feel about **_**Seven **_**as a whole, I'd really like to know.**_

_**Also, to the lovely reviewers who are actually wanting to physically injure, maim and destroy Josh – you guys are so sweet! Xx**_

_**PS: if you have any questions you can either review OR you can visit my tumblr. http:/ the little actor. tumblr. Com (just remove the spaces) :) **_

I didn't wake up at the normal time the next day. I hadn't really slept well, and I thought Jeff had switched off my alarm since I didn't wake up properly. Since it was a Saturday, it didn't really matter: we didn't have classes and the Warblers hadn't scheduled a rehearsal. But there was one appointment I vowed to myself I'd never miss: Coffee at seven.

So when I woke up at 7:17am from the sound of knocking on the door, I was horrified. Shocked. Guilty. I was late for coffee with Kurt and considering how understanding and supportive he'd been through the Josh debacle I felt terrible for having missed the one thing I was able to do for Kurt in return.

I flew out of bed and found myself at the door in record time. Jeff, being the heavy sleeper he is, was sound asleep, completely unaware that anything was happening. I opened the door to find Kurt holding a tray containing two coffees and two breakfast muffins.

"Coffee at seven is our thing, so let's pretend that it's seventeen minutes earlier than it actually is," Kurt greeted me, pushing past me to place the breakfast on the small coffee table in front of the sofa.

"Hey, I'm _so _sorry, I slept right through my alarm and I just-"

"It's okay, baby. Given the way our phone conversation ended last night I kinda figured you wouldn't be up for an early morning start," Kurt said understandingly, placing napkins on the table and dividing up the goods.

"God. It's just been so... eugh."

"I know what you mean. Come here." Kurt came over to me and pulled me into a warm, tight hug. We stayed that way for a while, just in each others arms, until Kurt finally pulled away and said, "Come on, we don't want the coffee to get cold."

We sat next to each other on the sofa and ate and drank in silence. I was still in my uniform from the previous school day, since I'd fallen asleep wearing it. Thankfully, my tie was long gone, otherwise I would've strangled myself in my sleep. It wasn't until Kurt and I had finished our breakfast muffins and were onto the last of our coffees that we noticed how many of my shirt buttons were undone.

"Whoa, Blaine! Hel-lo, chest!"

"What do you- oh..." I said awkwardly, moving to button up my shirt.

"You don't have to do that, it's just me."

"But I can't just sit here with an exposed chest, that's weird."

"Blaine. I'm your BOYFRIEND. You know. That guy that you can talk to about anything, do anything in front of and never be judged."

"I know, but... it's my chest, you know? I don't want it to seem like I'm some creepy lothario guy perving on the younger man."

"...kinky."

"Hush, you."

"But seriously, I just mean that... it's me. You never _ever _have to feel embarrassed around me, okay? Besides... you're kinda hot with your shirt unbuttoned..."

"...oh really?"

"Yeah. Really."

I sensed that Kurt was trying to take the conversation in a different direction, but after just having revisited my past with Josh I couldn't even think about doing _anything_, even with Kurt. I knew that I had to actually tell Kurt the whole story, because it would come up again. And Kurt, being my _everything_ just _had _to know.

"Kurt," I said, trying to sound as serious yet as 'fine' as possible, "I have to fill you in on some stuff..."

Kurt's expression immediately changed. He suddenly looked concerned and slightly disconcerted by the quick change of subject, especially considering where the conversation was headed.

"Blaine? Is everything okay?"

I shifted around on the couch to face Kurt entirely. It was going to be hard, I knew that. But I also felt slightly comforted by the fact that Kurt was there, right in front of me, willing to support me in anything. That made it slightly easier to go on.

"I'm... alright. I just have to... uhm. I have to talk to you about Josh."

Kurt's expression changed yet again to a more pained look.

"What? What about him? He hasn't come back, has he?"

"No, he hasn't... but I need to fill you in on the past..."

"You told me everything when we were walking around the school that day... didn't you?"

I hung my head in shame, feeling bad that I hadn't told Kurt sooner. He was closest to me, he had been my everything since the day I met him yet I'd neglected to tell him about the day that changed who I am.

"There's more to it than that..."

We sat there for hours going over every single detail. As much as it killed me – especially when the tears started falling – I knew I had to power through. I had to tell Kurt absolutely everything. And with every single sentence I spoke, Kurt was there for me. He'd taken my hand, held it there, squeezed it when I needed to be reminded of his presence and just _been there._

When I'd finally finished, Kurt's face was stricken with horror, distaste and just general shock. He still held my hands tightly in his yet I sensed that he was somewhat detached.

"Blaine, why didn't you tell me this before?"

I sighed, not really knowing the answer to the question but doing the best I could to respond.

"I guess... I've never really had anyone to open up to... and it's hard for me to even think about what happened. It hurts, Kurt. It makes my physically ill and I can't... I can't deal with it. I didn't want to make you have to deal with it to, I suppose..."

Kurt pulled me in so that I was laying on his lap. He began stroking my hair with one hand and just holding his other hand, intertwined with mine, over my heart.

"I know it's hard and it's not something you ever want to deal with... but I'm always here. I'm someone you can _always _ count on. I love you, Blaine Anderson, and nothing anyone says or does can ever change that."

"I love you too, Kurt."

"And I want you to remember that you need to tell me these things. You make me sick with worry when I can see you're holding back something that is really affecting you, you know?"

"Yeah," I said, tightening my grip on Kurt's hand, "I know."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kurt had decided to spend the rest of the day at Dalton with me, calling his dad under the pretence of French revision. Jeff eventually woke up, but upon seeing us on the sofa crying and just holding onto each other, he quickly changed, put his keys and phone in his pocket and left, telling us that if we needed anything all we had to do was text him. Kurt occasionally stood up to browse through our mini-fridge to get the odd snack or drink we'd need, but we spent most of the day on the sofa watching Disney movies and just being with each other.

Before we knew it, it was 4:00pm and that meant that if Kurt was going to be back in Lima on time for dinner, he'd have to leave straight away.

"Baby, you're gonna have to go..." I said softly, not really wanting Kurt to leave at all.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here."

I felt an instant burst of warmth when Kurt said that, though I knew it wouldn't go down with Burt too well if he knew that his son was staying with his boyfriend for the night.

"But, your dad..."

"Is going to understand completely once I talk to him on the phone," Kurt smiled at me warmly before disentangling himself from the pretzel that we had become and somehow managing to get his phone out of his seriously tight pants. He dialled his father's number and spoke to him, strolling around the room in doing so. I loved how Kurt didn't leave the room – it felt as though he was comfortable enough to virtually live there with myself and Jeff. He was part of us.

Kurt had somehow managed to get his dad's approval (though the one stipulation was that Jeff would be in the room the entire night and Burt WOULD find a way to check) and kissed me on the cheek as he hung up the phone.

"Looks like I'm rooming with you tonight," he said with a smile.

I moved to get up and go to my dresser to find some spare clothes for Kurt, saying, "It may not be Alexander McQueen, but maybe I can find something for you here."

"Don't worry about it, I've got a bag packed in my car."

"...you brought a bag?"

"Of course I did. I heard the way you were talking on the phone last night, and... I don't know. I just remember feeling like I so badly wanted to be there with you... to be there for you..."

"I'm glad," I said honestly, eyes locking with Kurt's as he took a step forward, tilted my chin towards him and pressed our lips together in a gentle, soft kiss.

"I'll be back in a minute, I'll just go get my bag, okay?"

"Sure thing. I'll have a quick shower."

"Sounds good," Kurt said, kissing me again before sprinting out the door.

I gathered everything I needed to clean up, except my hair gel, knowing that Kurt liked it better with my unruly curls. I, too, sprinted towards my destination, very much aware of the fact that Kurt could be ridiculously fast when he wanted to be. I didn't lock the door so that if Kurt beat me back to the room Jeff and I shared then Kurt could get in and make himself at home without any trouble. Jeff wouldn't mind at all about Kurt staying. Jeff worshipped Kurt.

After the quickest shower known to man, I managed to get myself all scrubbed up and into my Dalton sweatpants and hoodie within two minutes. I then began the journey back towards my room, running into Jeff on the way.

"Hey man, how're you doing?" he asked me as we walked together down the halls.

"I'm holding up. Kurt's been... way too good to me."

Jeff clapped my back. "He's a good man. He really loves you. I can see it in the way you guys talk, man. It's amazing."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I wanna find that one day."

All I could do was smile in response. I knew what Jeff was saying – Kurt was unique, and I know he truly loved me. When we reached the door of our room, I couldn't wait to get back inside and feel Kurt's arms around mine.

Jeff tried to turn the doorknob without success.

"Did you lock it?" he asked me.

"No, I left it unlocked because Kurt was coming back to stay the night..."

Jeff took his keys out of his pocket with a furrowed eyebrow and unlocked the door, cautiously stepping inside. I heard shuffling, a muffled voice and what seemed like a plea for help._ What the hell is going on?_

"BLAINE! HELP!" I heard Kurt's clear voice scared and panicked.

"SHUT UP, YOU!"

I recognised that voice.

It was the same voice saying the exact same words that had been echoing in my head since the first time I heard them used that way in a Dalton bathroom on graduation day the previous year.

It was Josh.


	25. Chapter 25

"What the hell is going on?" Jeff yelled as he stormed into the room and pulled Josh away from Kurt. I noticed they were both fully clothed. Kurt's lips weren't swollen. He didn't look shocked. He didn't looked scared, and since I thought I'd heard him scared in the way he yelled I was confused.

Josh took a step back from Kurt, whipping his head around to look at Jeff.  
>"I was looking for Blaine."<p>

"Why were you looking for him? And what the hell were you doing terrorising his boyfriend?"

"Firstly, it's none of your business why I was looking for him. Secondly, I was NOT terrorising his _boyfriend_!"

"Then what was with Kurt yelling out for help?" I asked, instinctively taking a step towards Kurt to put my arm around him.

"He was looking for you, Blaine, and I wouldn't tell him where you were," Kurt said without giving Josh a chance to talk.

"Why were you looking for me? Why have you been contacting me? Haven't you done enough?"

"I needed you... for something..." Josh started to look evasive, as if he were dodging the questions posed to him. He shifted in his spot, refusing to make eye contact.

"You'll tell us what you wanted right now. That's the least we deserve after everything you've done," Jeff spoke up from where he stood, blocking the exit.

"FINE! I just... I wanted to... God..."

"Out with it!" Kurt shouted out, surprising me with his harsh tone and his sudden outburst.

"I wanted to apologise, okay?"

Jeff, Kurt and I just looked at each other in bewilderment and partial disbelief. Josh had caused so much pain and hurt that I couldn't imagine him genuinely caring nor wanting to apologise.

"Why would you apologise now? What the hell made you come to this decision?"

"My dad died, okay? He died. He was a sour, disgusting man. I hated him. And when he died and I was at his funeral I couldn't help but think that that's what I was going to be. I didn't want to be that person and despite all the shit I've put everyone through I think I deserve a second chance."

"Second chance? You didn't just steal a shirt, or accidentally scratch my car!" I couldn't help myself as I let my anger out through the stream of words that were flowing out of my mouth. "You actually took everything from me. My first experiences. You told me you loved me and even when I knew you didn't it still hurt to think about how someone could be that... horrible! And then you go and... graduation day was a nightmare for me. I hated you for it. And I think I still do. But you made me hate myself so much that my life was in ruins. I was utterly miserable until I met Kurt. Do you know what that's like?"

Josh sighed. "No. I don't."

"I think it's best if you leave," Kurt stepped in, sensing that I wasn't up for a fight or a discussion with someone so horrid.

"But I-"

"Go," Jeff said sternly.

Josh looked at me, though I wasn't looking at him, and he turned to leave. He moved slowly towards the door, looked over his shoulder and said, "I really am sorry. I don't know... I don't know who I am anymore. But I'm not that guy. And I'm sorry."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Just go. Please. And don't contact me again."

"...Fine."

There he was, walking out of my dorm room, and all I felt and thought was just pure confusion. How was somebody supposed to react to any of that?

The room was silent after he'd left and the door had slammed behind him. Jeff had slowly made his way to his bed, where he fell right back with his head in his hands and just sighed. Kurt pushed me towards my bed, where we sat next to each other while my head was on his shoulder. We sat there in silence for half an hour or so before Jeff spoke.

"That was... that was one big lead-up just for that, hey?"

I snorted.

"I know what you mean," Kurt added, "Couldn't he have toned it down a little in the beginning? I mean, scary phone calls? Cornering me in your room? All for an _apology?_"

"Dude," Jeff said, "That's a little... gay."

We all laughed big, genuine laughs we hadn't experienced in a long time. We spent the night cracking jokes at Josh's expense, and as we did I felt a small weight lifting. I knew I'd never forget what had happened in the past, but it was as if I knew that I wouldn't be in danger anymore. I wouldn't have to constantly watch out. I could just be me. I could be with Kurt. I could be _free._

Jeff decided to stay in Wes' room that night, where he, Wes, David, Jason and a few other Warblers were planning on a games night on David's new PlayStation3. That conveniently left Kurt and I in the room by ourselves.

"What are we going to do for dinner, baby?" I asked him, snuggling in closer to feel the warmth of his chest and to smell his usual lavender scent.

"I don't know... We can't order in, I know that's against Dalton's policy... We could go out?"

"No. Nononononono, I wanna stay right here, you're warm," I whined like a child.

Kurt laughed and held me closer. "That's okay. We can rummage something from your bar fridge, I suppose."

I snorted, "The only things you'll find in there are chocolate bars, sodas and - OH MY GOD!"

I jumped up and practically sprinted to the fridge, hurled the door open and pulled out a container. "I FORGOT THAT JEFF MADE CHICKEN POT PIE FOR ME YESTERDAY!"

Kurt looked amused. "That's awesome! But... how are we going to heat it? Or eat it, for that matter. You don't have any cutlery. Or plates."

An idea popped into my head. "Come on," I said with a grin, reaching forward to take Kurt's hand and pull him out of the room with me.

"Blaine!" Kurt voiced his protest as we ran through the hall and out the building. "It's freaking freezing, what are we doing?"

"Shh! Just follow me!"

I held on tight to Kurt's hand, pulling and dragging him along with me. We came to the Dalton kitchen and Kurt finally realised what was going on.

"_Blaine. _We can't _break in_. That's ridiculous!"

"We're not breaking in! We just... We missed dinner, so why not just heat up our own? They can't get us in trouble for _eating_, for goodness' sake."

"But-"

"Do you want to eat, or not?" I fixed Kurt with a stare, a flirty, sexy stare. It was a look I knew he couldn't resist.

"Fine."

We stole into the kitchen, sneaking past the windows and dodging the security camera in the corner of the room, and made our way to the oven. It was still freezing in the kitchen, just like it was outside, but it didn't take long for the warmth of the oven to heat our pie and ourselves.

Kurt and I sat on the cold, tile floor right in front of the oven. Hand in hand, we sat there, waiting for our pie to heat up and just talking about _everything_: from the serious events of the day to what weird thing Finn said during dinner the previous night. When the pie had eventually heated up completely, Kurt reached to the bench behind him and took one plate and two forks.

"Just one plate?" I asked, a little confused.

"We're sharing," Kurt said so casually as if it was no big deal at all.

Little did he know how every tiny thing he did still had an effect on me, even after almost a month and a half of dating. The smallest touch, the softest of kisses, the quietest of whispers – they all did something to me. And after the hell that had been the past few weeks, it felt so unbelievably _right_ to be there with Kurt, my boyfriend, in that moment.

I couldn't help but smile the widest I'd ever smiled as Kurt looked at me, just _looking_.

"You're beautiful," I whispered, my words echoing in the silent kitchen.

"You're amazing," Kurt whispered back, staring into my eyes for a moment before carefully moving the pie tray onto the plate and shuffling forward so that our combined laps would make a makeshift table.

We ate together, in silence, content with where we were. Occasionally our forks would meet in the middle, causing us to look at each other and just grin like idiots. It was down to the last bite – just enough for one person.

"Here," Kurt said, stabbing the crust with his fork and scooping up the filling, "you can have the last bite."

As I opened my mouth to speak, he shoved the fork into my mouth. I couldn't believe he was feeding me: it felt like an old, classical romance. I finished eating as quickly as possible knowing that I just needed to feel Kurt's arms around me. I needed Kurt's lips on mine.

I carefully took the plate, which thankfully, wasn't too hot, and placed it on the floor next to us. I leant forward, took Kurt's hands and didn't even give him a moment to think. I leant in further, locking his lips with mine. It was an open-mouthed kiss right from the start, but it wasn't heated or fiery or driven by sexual desire. It was purely love. The glow from the oven shone on Kurt's face and his beauty overwhelmed me. I loved every single part of him and all I wanted to do was share that love.

We kissed for ages, it seemed, before realising that we were still in the stone-cold kitchen. We hesitantly broke apart, hands still intertwined, before stealthily washing our plate and forks, discarding the pie tray and sneaking out the way we'd come in. We made it back to my dorm room without getting caught, and since it was almost midnight we knew that the Dalton head-of-dorm would be around and locking the doors after curfew, so we'd really sprinted (albeit silently).

Upon arriving back at my room, I locked the door behind us and immediately turned to the heating panel. I turned the heating on so that we wouldn't be blue the whole night, and then pulled Kurt in for another kiss.

"Would it be strange if I said that this night was perfect?" Kurt asked me as he stopped for a quick breath.

I thought about it for a moment. "Yes and no. Depends on what aspects of tonight you're referring to," I said, teasingly.

"The chicken pot pie, the sneaking around with you... and _this. _Just _being _with _you_," Kurt said, looking deep into my eyes and leaning forward to sneak a quick, gentle kiss.

"Then no. Tonight... being with you... it's all I've ever wanted."

We moved to my bed, not bothering to change out of our clothes, and I moved the TV screen so that we could see it clearly from where we were positioned. We watched old romantic movies while snuggled up all cosy and warm, intertwined underneath the covers. We stole kisses at every chance, each one just as gentle and soft as the last, not taking any time to dwell on the less admirable aspects of the evening. All that mattered was that we were together, in the moment. I was there, with my boyfriend – the most beautiful, talented, kind-hearted man in the world – and everything was perfect. Nothing could hurt me at all anymore.

Nothing at all.

_**Putting the author's note down the bottom because I didn't fancy torturing any of you.  
>I'm sorry for the bit of drama in the past few chapters: it may not suit everyone, but I felt like this was just a fluff piece without much of a storyline. It wasn't as bad as you all thought, eh? Kept you in suspense, though. I'm evil like that.<strong>_

_**If you're wondering about Josh, well, Blaine and Kurt said it best. It was a big lead up to a whole lot of nothing. When writing Josh I immediately thought that in some ways, Josh was to Blaine as Karofsky was to Kurt, if that makes sense. I thought that since Kurt had a past that affected him, why shouldn't Blaine? **_**However **_**it was pretty intense. And possibly slightly overdramatic. But that's not the last of Josh. There's much more to it, it doesn't end here. So the lead-up leads onwards!**_

_**Given all of this, I'd appreciate your thoughts about... everything. Please let me know what you think, because your reviews keep me going, keep me inspired but actually encourage me to work harder to be better. **_

_**Also, there will soon be a French translation of **_**Seven! **_**I was recently approached by someone wanting to do a translation for French readers so there you go! I'll let you know when I know more too.**_

_**Thankyou to everyone supporting this fic and supporting me in writing it. It's tough, especially given my time constraints, but everyone has just been so lovely and kind that it really makes it worth it. **_

_**And my gosh, some of you were getting really protective of Blaine! WHOA! That made me smile. (:**_

_**Love to all, hugs to all, and I leave you with a hint for the next chapter/s:**_

_**KurtieBear Cuddle Time... cuddle time. ;)**_

_**added note: massive thanks to MissScarlett21 for the help in noticing my little, stupid errors! adjkfahsldkjhf! I'm an idiot!**_


	26. Chapter 26

_**Hi!**_

_**Thankyou for the reviews! I'm sorry it's been a while since my last chapter: exams, assignments and other assessments have truly taken over and I'm a little behind on everything. When exam block finishes, we should be back to the usual 2-3 day update.**_

_**Pointless chapter is pointless. Well, not entirely. Who can explain what foreshadowing is? ;)**_

_**I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. Again, sorry for the late update. **_**However **_**I must say, I did get some messages demanding more – and not in a joking manner. I appreciate you reading this story and reviewing it, and I appreciate all the support. But it has been a crazy week for me and I've done the best I can. I'm sorry!**_

_**That being said, enjoy!**_

I awoke the next morning, happier than I'd been in weeks. The feeling of "Holy shit, Kurt's my boyfriend!" still hadn't subsided and I was just so happy that I was waking up next to him.

I woke before him, and since I was closest to the nightstand I was able to reach for my phone (somehow not held back by Kurt's ridiculously tight grasp) and checked the time. It was 6:48, which meant I had exactly 12 minutes to put my plan into practice.

I wriggled out of Kurt's arms, not wanting to disturb him, scribbled a quick note and stuck it to the nightstand, and ran for the showers. I showered, changed, and didn't bother taming my hair, and made it back to the dorm within five minutes. When I reached my dorm room Kurt was awake and waiting for me with a pout on his face.

"You left me," he whined childishly, the slightest trace of a sleepy smile evident on his face.

"I'm sorry baby," I said, playing along, skipping over to wrap my arms around him and hold him tightly. "I promise, it was for a good reason."

"You're right," Kurt agreed, unable to keep a straight face any longer, "You smell much nicer now."

I hit him on the shoulder, albeit gently, in the pretence of offence. We laughed together as Kurt hit me back and we erupted into a play fight before I realised what my plan was.

"Okay, we've gotta stop," I said, still laughing.

"Why?"

"Because. I'm taking you out for breakfast."

"Pfft. Why are you doing that?"

"What's the time, silly?"

"...Seven. Coffee at seven," Kurt said softly, smiling and looking deep into my eyes. "It feels like that's our thing. Coffee at seven, coffee and bagels or croissants... Cookies for you afterwards in my amateurish attempt at paying you back..."

"It's totally our thing," I said, taking his hands in mine. "It's _ours_."

Kurt leant in and kissed me softly, before leaning back and suddenly saying, "BUT WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO DO? I DON'T HAVE TIME TO DO MY SKIN CARE REGIME AND I DON'T HAVE TIME TO WASH MY HAIR AND I DON'T HAVE TIME TO IRON MY OUTFIT FOR TODAY!"

"Calm down, baby," I said, laughing. "You can wear something of mine. At least, for breakfast anyways. Then we can come back and you can shower and iron and change to your heart's content."

"But I-"

"Coffee at seven, remember?"

Kurt smiled. "Okay. Gimme something."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

We strolled through the Dalton grounds the way we usually did: hand-in-hand, walking slowly and silently, concentrating on the beautiful scenery and sneaking glances at each other wherever possible. It was moments like those that made me realise how lucky I truly was. Kurt was wearing my Dalton sweatshirt and a pair of my old jeans. He looked so un-Kurt, but at the same time, he was so... sexy. Everything about it was just _right_.

The guys always joked that I was a hopeless romantic and that I'd be of better use in a Shakespeare sonnet. I couldn't help but be this smitten by Kurt.

We reached the door of the coffee shop just as I looked down at my watch to find it was exactly 7:00am. I squeezed Kurt's hand and moved to open the door, but felt Kurt stiffen and hesitate next to me.

"What's wrong?" I asked gently.

"...What if people see what I'm wearing?"

I laughed and pushed Kurt into the coffee shop, directing him towards our usual table and forcing him to sit down. I kissed him on the cheek, patted his hand when he began to pull out some money and swiftly sprinted towards the counter to order our usual. It was a quiet morning: there were only three other people in the shop, meaning that we were served quickly. Kurt looked up from where he was texting Mercedes with a surprised expression on his face.

"Wow, that was quick," he said, taking everything off the tray and organising it for us.

"No line," I replied simply, giving Kurt a warm smile and starting my meal.

For us, coffee at seven had slowly turned silent over the past view coffee dates. It wasn't from a lack of interest or from awkward tension or anything like that. We'd just past the awkward stage. We were comfortable with each other. We'd both blurt out the most ridiculous things and the other would either laugh or find some way to turn it into a sexual innuendo. It was comfortable. It was right.

And so we sat there in silence, eating away until a thought crossed my mind.

"Kurt?" I interrupted Kurt mid-bite into his croissant, which caused a drip of butter to slide down his chin.

I laughed as I leant forward and wiped it off with my thumb. "Can't take me anywhere," Kurt said, reaching for a napkin to clean the remainder off his chin and wipe the butter off of my thumb.

"Gosh, I know, I don't know why I do it," I teased, before remembering what I had thought of just moments before.

"So Kurt... I was thinking... that maybe you'd like to come home with me and meet my parents?"

I looked at Kurt to gauge his reaction: his eyes had widened and I sensed the slightest touch of fear, however I also saw the many different outfit combinations crossing his mind as he immediately dreamt of the parent-approved son's-boyfriend outfit.

"...Kurt?"

Kurt snapped back into the conversation. "Sorry. Uhm. Yeah. I guess it makes sense, I mean, you've met my family. And New Directions. They're my family too. So yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Of course. It'd be great to meet your family and get to know them and to see where my boyfriend grew up and OH!"

Kurt had a suspicious grin on his face and his eyes had lit up considerably.

"What?"

"Please tell me your mom will show me some baby pictures!"

"...never. We don't have any. Ever. I wasn't a baby. What?"

"Some bathtub pictures? Cute little soapy Blaine with a rubber ducky? Or maybe running around the house naked on a hot day? Jumping in sprinklers?"

"...I wasn't a child. I didn't have a childhood. There are no pictures. You must have me confused with someone else."

"Blaine..."

"Okay, okay. She _might_. But for my sake, I'm hoping she won't."

"You know it's okay if she does, right? I mean, you've seen all of my baby pictures."

"But that was different, Kurt," I said softly. "You were crying over pictures of you and your mom on the anniversary of her death."

"Still... It'd be nice to see how you were back then."

"Back when?" I asked confusedly.

"Back when I didn't know you. The years that I should have known you."

"...Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"That is possibly the sweetest thing you've ever said. You know that?"

Kurt imitated a pretentious toss of the hair before saying, "I try," and winking at me seductively. I laughed and reached out to hold his hand in mine.

"You want to come?"

"Sure. I'd love to. But... could you tell me more about your family?"

"You know about my family, baby. We covered that on our second, non-hormonally charged date."

Kurt laughed, "Yes, very true. But... What are they like? You only went over the basics."

"Ah. Well. My father-"

"Bruce, right?"

"Yeah. Bruce. He's very... he's got good common sense. He's straight to the point on practically everything, so don't ever skip around the point with him. But he's very supportive of me and my... _life choices, _as some people call it."

"You mean to say, he's pro-gay?" Kurt said incredulously.

"Hard to believe, but it's true. He was easier to tell than my mom."

"Kate, right?"

"Yep, that's her. She's fine with it and all, but I think she just so desperately wanted another daughter-in-law."

"But you have a real sister! What about Charlotte?"

I laughed, "She's nine! And Mom's very against the whole concept of growing up before your time, so I think Charlotte's the only daughter whose mom doesn't buy makeup and lingerie and fake tan for their nine-year olds."

"Fair enough. Kids are so trashy these days."

"I know... But yeah. Mom will be very welcoming and polite and very courteous until she gets to know you. She gets anxious around company, but I think once she sees how comfortable we are together," Kurt smiled, "...I don't think she'll have a problem."

"That's good. You have such supportive parents. So do I. I thought that'd be ridiculously hard to find in Ohio."

"Me too, but somehow it works out, hey?"

Kurt nodded, took a sip of his coffee and continued his questions.

"So what about your siblings? Charlotte? And... Your older brothers... Gosh. I know their names! I do!"

"It's okay," I smiled, surprised that he'd even remembered my parents and Charlotte without ever meeting them. "Dylan and Donovan."

Kurt laughed, "That's right! Your mom was still a bit off from her epidural and her other meds that she decided to put alliteration to good use!"

"Good ol' Mom."

"She sounds fun when she's had prescription drugs."

"Oh, she was heaps of fun when she had Charlotte. Dyl, Donovan and I abused it to no end. We asked for _everything _and she kept saying yes. Then she called me Bill Clinton and accused me of having an affair _with _my wife."

Kurt laughed again, and I noticed a stray curl from his hair laid just above his eyebrows. I moved forward to push it back without thinking, and continued filling Kurt in.

"Dylan's the twenty-six year old. He's married and moved out and everything. He and his wife, Katherine, come back once a month for a family dinner. He's like Dad in that he's straight to the point, but he can be _very _sarcastic, so you've really got to watch out for that. But he's a really good guy. He's very sporty, so he'll go on about football for hours if you let him. He used to be rather blunt and careless with what he said, but I think Katherine beat that out of him, bless her."

"Anything I should know about Katherine?"

"No, just that she's very much like Dylan. She's not much of a girly girl. I think that's why they get along."

"It's nice to have someone you just connect with and relate with on every level," Kurt said, squeezing my hand.

I squeezed his hand back. "I know."

After a few moments silence, Kurt prompted me to continue. "And Donovan?"

"Ahhh. Donovan. He's the butch one. It's all sports, beer and girls with him. And it took him the longest to come to terms with who I am. He still doesn't really mention it or acknowledge it in public, but he's not against it. I guess he wanted another sporty brother and once Dyl moved out to live with Katherine, he lost that. I'm at Dalton with my Warblers. I don't exactly scream 'butch'."

"Especially not with that gel you put in your hair," Kurt teased.

"Hush you!"

"Sorry. Continue."

"Okay. Well... uh... Dyl's quiet around new people. He got that from Mom. I'd probably just find some common interest. He does like _Les Mis, _I think because Mom took him a while back. Fond memories. So you could probably talk about that."

"Your brothers sound kinda cool."

"Hey, you've got Finn!"

"Yes, but he's still trying to talk to me about boobs and actually thinks you'll develop them."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah. He knows you're a guy, but the whole 'partner' thing makes you the feminine one, apparently."

"Oh. Cool. That's... right..."

"Ha! Don't let it bother you! Carole will get to him. Anyway... Charlotte! Tell me about her!"

My face lit up and I could feel myself about to gush. I definitely had a better relationship with Charlotte than anyone else in the family. She was the most accepting and understanding, and she shared my passion for music. In some ways, she was my best friend.

"Charlotte has the most amazing voice in the world, and she's addicted to musicals, so talk to her about those and you'll be right on track. We always do a little duet when I'm home, and we'll record it. I've got the files on my laptop, actually. She's starting to get interested in shopping, though she's actually really modest and age-appropriate so that's not really a bad thing. She LOVES baking, especially when I come home and we bake cupcakes together and we sing in the kitchen. She and I play chess a lot, too. She's unique. Very mature for her age. But at the same time she still has this incredible imagination and she can just be herself and-"

"Blaine!" Kurt cut me off, "Breathe!"

"Sorry," I said awkwardly, looking down at our intertwined hands on the table.

"It's okay. I see how much you love her. I was just afraid you were going to hyperventilate or something."

"I find it hard to stop, don't I?"

"She sounds amazing, I don't blame you."

"She is. I love her. She's my best friend, I guess."

Kurt retracted his hands with mock outrage. "I thought I was your best friend!"

"You're my best friend over the age of ten," I laughed. "_And_ you're my boyfriend. You get top spot, baby, don't worry."

"Oh, okay. I won't."

We sat there talking about my family in-depth for quite some time before finally making the mutual decision to head back to the dorm. Being the gentlemen we were, we cleared our table, depositing the tray into the slot on the side of the counter and placing our trash in the bin provided. We linked arms and took two steps outside the shop before Kurt stopped me.

"Hang on, I think I left my phone in there! Idiot! I'll be right back."

"Do you want me to get it for you?"

"No, it's okay, it'll only take a second," he said, before darting inside. I turned my attention to my own phone, where I'd seen Jeff's insane texts ("Where's my chicken pot pie? DID YOU EAT MY PIE? WHY IS YOUR BED MUSSED? WHY ARE KURT'S CLOTHES DRAPED OVER THE SOFA? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE? BLAINE!") and scrolled through them all to see if there was a single one worth responding to. It had only been a couple of minutes when Kurt re-emerged from the shop with his hands behind his back.

"What are you hiding?" I asked suspiciously.

Kurt pulled his arms around from behind his back to give me a single chocolate and M'n'M cookie wrapped in cellophane with a ribbon around it.

"Aw, thankyou baby," I thanked Kurt, still touched by the simplest of gestures that really meant more than just a cookie.

"Anytime," Kurt said, leaning forward to kiss me deeply, take my free hand in his, and lead me back to the dorm.

Coffee at seven had once again been a magical experience.


	27. Chapter 27

_**Thank you to every single one of you for your kind words, your support and your patience. I appreciate everything you do for me, not only through reading my stories, giving good reviews and 'favouriting' my story, but through your heartfelt messages of support and understanding.**_

_**The good news is that the surgeries for both family members with cancer have gone well, despite initial infections. We're waiting for news. **_

_**I've spent some time away, trying to concentrate on refreshing myself and getting my head back to a positive place. That's been a lot easier as I receive your lovely messages. You have made me smile plenty, so I am so thankful.**_

_**I am doing my absolute best to get the ball rolling on this story. I must thank you, again, because I've still had a steady flow of readers each day and I keep receiving notifications that more people have favourited this story – and even me, as an author. You are incredible. I owe it to you to get more chapters out ASAP, so I'm writing non-stop. Again, thank you for absolutely everything. I owe everything to you: if it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't have any inspiration.**_

_**Please review so I know if this is good and links well with previous chapters. I haven't written in a while and I don't know if this chapter is any good. :\ **_

xxxxx

The following week was a stressful blur, complete with homework, Warblers rehearsal and my constant worry over the approaching family dinner. I powered through, concentrating as best as I could on my schoolwork and on my commitments, whilst my mind kept reeling over the conversation I'd had with my mom on the phone the night before Kurt and I were to be at my parents for the dinner I was so nervous for.

_The night before..._

"So sweetie, what time will you and Kurt be over here?" Mom asked me.

"Well it's a Friday night, so we'll have to get ready after school. I think Kurt's just going to stay here at Dalton and get ready here. We'll probably be there around six, is that okay?"

"Yeah, honey, sounds perfect. Now... Kurt's not a vegetarian, right?"

"Depends on what day of the week it is," I laughed, "Not at this stage, no."

"Okay. Well... I think I can rummage something up. You do know that Dylan and Katherine will be over tomorrow night for dinner, don't you?"

"Oh. Well I do now. That's okay. Kurt can meet everyone at the same time. We scare him off."

"He won't be scared," Mom laughed, "He'll be... intrigued, if anything. We're an interesting bunch."

"I know, Mom. So how long do you think this dinner will go for?"

"I don't know, depends on how many courses I end up making. Why?"

"Well, I have a curfew here at Dalton and I'd like to drop Kurt home before I get back."

"Makes sense. But that'll take hours. He lives in Lima, you'll have to leave within fifteen minutes of getting here. Why don't you both spend the night here?"

"Really? You want us both to stay over? That'd be okay with you guys? And Donovan?"

"I don't see your father having an issue with it. I mean, it's not like you guys can get each other pregnant."

"MOM!"

"Calm down, honey. I just meant that it wouldn't be a problem."

"Well say that next time! God!"

"Alright, alright. Well just make sure you guys get here in enough time for your siblings to inspect and approve of Kurt. You know. Like they usually do."

"They're awfully judgemental."

"Like you can talk, poor Katherine was scared of you after she accidentally spilled wine on your white shirt."

"Hey! It was a designer shirt! And I was just looking out for Dyl!"

"And that's all they're doing for you, hon. I've gotta go pick Charlotte up from ballet now, but I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. Thanks Mom."

"No problem. Love you."

"Love you too."

And that was the end of the conversation.

My family was going to interrogate Kurt. I knew it. But I was hoping that Donovan could keep his cool, just for one night. Especially with Dyl and Katherine there. Not to mention Charlotte – she didn't need any more drama in her life.

xxxxxxx

_Friday afternoon..._

Kurt and I walked into my dorm room after being dismissed for the day, both nervous about what was to come but denying our anxiety at the same time. We snuck quick looks at each other when we thought the other wasn't looking. It was strangely quiet, even for us.

"Are you... uhm... are you okay?" I asked him timidly, placing my bag on my bed, sitting down and loosening my tie.

"Yeah..." Kurt replied, slumping down into the sofa and kicking off his shoes.

"You sure?"

"Well, I'm nervous, Blaine. I'm fine, but slightly nervous. I don't want to be the boyfriend everyone hates."

"Oh, you know that'll never happen. That's ridiculous!"

"Blaine. Seriously. I'm probably the most effeminate gay in the world. My closet is filled with Alexander McQueen and several replicas of Lady Gaga's famous outfits. I'm addicted to Broadway and my goal is to one day perform the female lead in Defying Gravity in Wicked. I don't want them to be uncomfortable and I really, _really _don't want them to hate me."

I sighed, ran my fingers through my hair (which had been left gel-free for the day, since Kurt liked my curls), and walked over behind the sofa to wrap my arms around Kurt from behind.

"You are the most important person in the world to me. My family is important to me too, but whatever they say or think won't ever change my opinion of you."

"...But what if they hate me?"

I kissed Kurt's cheek softly, and said, "They won't ever hate you. There's no way they could. As long as you're yourself."

Kurt leant back and put his hands over mine. "Okay," he said. "I should probably get ready, then."

I kissed Kurt's cheek again. "That's a good idea," I said, before releasing my hold on Kurt and falling into the sofa.

"...Why aren't you getting ready, Blaine Anderson? Your mother would want you to look your best!"

I sighed, "Yes dear," and walked over to my dresser to begin searching for my nice, black pants and fluorescent purple socks. Kurt snorted from across the room.

"What?" I asked, whipping my head around to look at an amused Kurt.

"It's like we're an old, married couple," Kurt said, laughing a little and smiling widely.

"And so it begins," I laughed, knowing that one day, that scenario would _definitely _become a reality.

xxxxx

It had only taken us a couple of hours to get ready and begin the drive to my parents' place. Although Kurt had a tight grip on my hand as I drove, I was still rather shaky and nervous. I knew everyone would love Kurt. Well, mostly.  
>I was only really afraid of how Donovan would react.<p>

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked me, eyeing my shaky grip on the steering wheel and my intense stare on the road ahead.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just concentrating, you know?" I tried to laugh it off, but Kurt knew me better than that. He tightened his grip on my hand, and as we came to a stop at an intersection, he leaned over to kiss me.

"As long as we've got each other, everything will be okay," he said after he kissed me, using his free hand to stroke my cheek. I was brought back to reality from the honk of the car behind us, and as I turned to face the road and accelerate, Kurt's words kept ringing in my ears.

Kurt kept sneaking looks at me whenever he could. Although the drive lasted only fifteen or so minutes after that, it felt like an eternity. As we finally reached the driveway, I felt a small wave of relief along with a small pang of guilt: what if Donovan ruined the night for us? For Kurt? I didn't think I could forgive myself for bringing Kurt to a family dinner if he left upset and hurt.

I drove into the driveway and parked behind Dylan's black Mercedes before leaping out of the car and striding towards Kurt's passenger door.

"Anderson Residence, sir," I said in a British-chauffeur voice, holding out my hand and squeezing Kurt's as he grasped mine and stepped out of the car.

"Why thank you, jolly old chap," he responded wittily, making me laugh and reminding me of just why we were there in the first place.

I held onto Kurt's hand as I shut his door and led him towards the front door of my house. Before I'd even had a chance to knock, a bubbly, curly-haired brunette girl in a pink, flowing dress bounced out to greet us.

"BLAINEEEEEEE!" Charlotte screamed, running towards me at full speed and leaping into my arms. In doing so, I had to let go of Kurt to catch Charlotte and hug her tightly.

"Hey, Charlotte! How are you?"

"I'm good," Charlotte's muffled voice came from where she'd dug her head into my shoulder. "Better now! I missed you!"

"I missed you to, honeybee," I said, kissing her on the forehead and gently placing her back on the ground on her own two feet.

"Really?" she asked.

"Of course! You don't ever have to worry about that. I'll _always_ miss you."

Charlotte smiled and squeezed my hand before noticing Kurt.

"OH! I'm sorry! I'm so rude! Mom would kill me! I'm Charlotte! Nice to meet you!" she spoke rapidly and excitedly, forgetting about me and reaching forward to shake Kurt's hand.

"I'm Kurt, it's very nice to meet you too, Charlotte! I love your dress!"

"Oh," Charlotte blushed, "Thank you! Mom bought it for me especially for tonight, because she wanted me to look my best for the two special guests."

"Two?" I asked, confused.

"You and Kurt, silly! Gosh, Blaine! You're special!" Charlotte said as she punched my arm (albeit, not hard enough to do any damage) and took my hand, pulling me inside. I was _just _able to grab onto Kurt's hand to follow as bypassed Mom's marigolds and found ourselves in the hallway.

"MOM! BLAINE AND KURT ARE HERE!" Charlotte screamed down the hallway, almost bursting our eardrums.

"I know, honey! Bring them to the kitchen!" I heard Mom shout back.

"Well. Come on!" Charlotte said to us in her determined manner, dragging us down the hall to the kitchen where the rest of the family was waiting and having pre-dinner drinks.

We stepped into the room, and within a second Mom had dropped the potato she was peeling and launched herself on top of me, smothering me with a breathless hug.

"Uhm. Hi Mom," I said, struggling to move my arms to hug her back.

I heard Mom laugh as she stepped back. "Sorry, couldn't help myself. It's been so long!"

"I know. I've missed you all."

"You're just saying that because I'm making your favourite mashed potatoes tonight."

"...You know me to well," I smirked, as my mother punched me on the arm.

"So. Everyone? This is Kurt, my beautiful, amazing boyfriend," I introduced Kurt, wrapping one arm around his back and turning to point to every person in the room.

"Of course that's Mom. Next to her, that's Dad. Obviously. Then that's Donovan, then Dylan and his wife Katherine."

"BLAINEEEEEE!" I heard a high-pitched whine from down below.

"Oh. And you've met my gorgeous, cheeky sister, Charlotte!" I said, messing her hair with my free hand, much to her protest.

"It's good to meet you," Dad stepped forward to greet Kurt, shaking his hand warmly.

"You too," Kurt said, not letting his nerves show as he shook my Dad's hand without whimpering at my Dad's infamous tight grip.

"I've been so excited for this!" Katherine pushed forward to hug both Kurt and I at the same time. "Kurt, we've heard so much about you!"

"She's not joking," Dylan piped up from where he was following in Katherine's footsteps. "It's endless, really. Blaineyboy here is rather enamoured."

Dylan winked at me and gave Kurt a handshake before punching me in the arm. "Good to see you bro. Good to meet you, Kurt."

"And you. _I've _heard a lot about _you_, I must say."

"Kurt!" I did my best to hush Kurt up, acting all embarrassed.

"Aha! I _knew_ I was your favourite, Blaine!" Dylan raised his arms in the air like he'd won a basketball game and proceeded to prance around the room.

"Ah, don't I get a look-in?" I heard Donovan say as he slowly stepped towards Kurt and I, extending his hand to shake Kurt's. "I'm Donovan. Don't worry about Dylan, he'll calm down after his third beer of the night."

"No drinking, boys, let's keep this a _normal_ family dinner," Dad said sternly.

"BUT DAAAAAAAAAAD!" Dylan and Donovan whined together like children.

"Does it bother you?" I asked Katherine, watching her amused expression turn worried.

"Well. Not me. I'll be designated driver no matter what. Baby can't drink," she winked at me, rubbing her small belly.

I looked at her in shock and disbelief. "Are you-?"

"Yep," she nodded, beaming as I forced myself onto her in a massive hug, pulling Dylan in for a hug too.

"Congrats, you guys! That's awesome!"

"Thanks, man," Dylan said, also beaming with pride. "Hey! You'll be an uncle!"

"Oh crap, dude. I'm not ready for that!" I joked, before turning to Kurt and adding, "Maybe Kurt will have to help me out?"

Kurt smiled, "Of course. I can get the best baby clothes for you to give the best gifts."

"Can't out-do me!" Mom piped up from her potato-peeling station, where I hadn't even noticed she'd resumed cooking. "I'm gonna be a grandma!"

"You don't look like a grandma, Mrs Anderson," Kurt said with a smile.

"Oh Kurt. Don't try to flatter me, I liked you from the minute my son started talking about you," she said warmly, smiling at mine and Kurt's intertwined hands.

"Okay, okay... maybe it's time to move this into the sitting room while your mother continues cooking?" Dad suggested.

"Oh, is there anything I can do to help?" I offered.

"No, of course not. This will take two minutes, if that. Just go and relax as your family begins interrogating Kurt," Mom replied.

"Hey! We will not!" Dylan objected, before looking at my unamused expression and reconsidering. "Okay. We probably will."

Dad led Dylan, Katherine and Donovan into the sitting room with Kurt and I following. I was careful to hold onto Kurt tightly and just reassure him as best as I could without actually vocalising anything for anyone else to hear. Kurt looked at me and smiled not only with his lips, but also with his eyes. Every single smile, every touch and every look, I fell more and more in love with Kurt. I suddenly felt the urge to show him off and yell, "THIS IS MY BOYFRIEND! HE'S AMAZING!" but I felt that wouldn't exactly be the best thing to do in a room full of Andersons.

Everyone had taken their seats, and I noticed the two-seated sofa was left free. I led Kurt to sit down first before sitting down next to him, closely, and putting my arm around his shoulders.

"So Blaine," Dylan started. "How are the chimps?"


	28. Chapter 28

"So Blaine," Dylan started. "How are the chimps?"

Everyone erupted into seemingly endless laughter as Kurt struggled to keep a hold on himself.

"I... I... Oh come on!" I couldn't think of a good comeback, but hoped that I could get Dylan to shut up. He was always the first to embarrass me. We were close, but he knew exactly how to make things awkward. And it didn't help that Kurt was writhing in uncontrollable laughter beside me.

"Kurt!" I tried to get his attention to get him to calm down. "Kurt! Could you not?"

"I'm sorry!" Kurt gasped in between loud bouts of laughter, "I didn't know your... chimp fascination... extended beyond... us..."

"'Extended beyond us'? Ooh, are chimps a turn on for you, Blaineyboy?" Dylan teased, knowing that my face would soon resemble a beetroot if he continued.

"I'd rather not hear about my son's private life," Dad piped up from where he was seated in _his _recliner, albeit still smirking from Dylan's initial question.

"Yeah. Little Peanut is a little freaked out over here," Katherine said, rubbing her belly to indicate her unborn baby's pet name.

"Let's change the subject, shall we?" I attempted a segue despite Kurt's muffled laughter beside me. It was my goal to shift the attention away from my chimpanzee tendencies. "Donovan, tell me about your life! I haven't heard from in you in ages!"

Donovan shifted in his seat awkwardly, gripping the armrest so hard that his knuckles whitened from the force. "Uh... nothing's really happening... my life is, uh... pretty boring..." Donovan said, looking as if he was avoiding eye contact with me as he spoke.

"I'm sure it's not boring," I said as politely as possible.

"It's not!" Dad said, "Tell them about your football achievements, Don!"

"What achievements?" I was bewildered. Pride was huge in the Anderson family, and no one was an exception. To not have heard about a big achievement was a pretty big indicator that there was some tension and that there were some underlying issues to conquer.

"It's nothing..." Donovan mumbled before Dylan intervened.

"He got selected for the varsity college team, and there's some scouts coming to his next game. They've indicated that they want him for the NFL."

"What? That's incredible!" Kurt had managed to calm down and start actively participating in the conversation, which was good seeing as I was speechless. Kurt said what I couldn't while I was just sitting there with my jaw wide open.

"It's alright..." Donovan mumbled.

"Don't play it down, son, it's something to be proud of!" Dad said in his deep, "I'm so proud" voice.

"Dad's right," I managed to say. "That's so awesome, Don. Congrats."

"Thanks..."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, desperately wanting to know why, despite our tense relationship as brothers, Donovan didn't break through that barrier and tell me his exciting news.

"Because you... I mean... God..."

"What?"

"All I heard were stories about you being so happy!" Donovan started speaking rapidly, his hands now assuming the position of clenched fists and his face showing signs of exasperation and slight anger. "It was 'Blaine is so happy at Dalton!' and 'Blaine's new friend is making him so happy!' and 'My god, Blaine is doing so well with the Warblers!'. God forbid I do something right. I didn't want to take the coveted Anderson spotlight off of you!"

I sat there for a moment, taking it all in, before carefully choosing my words in an effort to sort it out and understand the entire situation. "What... Uh... I know I've been vocal about how happy I've been lately, but I would've been so happy to hear your news, Don. You're... You're my brother and regardless of how you feel about me, I love you. I do. I don't know why you... why you're so distant. I wish we could be closer."

I felt Kurt's hand grip mine and turned to see him just looking at me with encouraging eyes and a small smile to keep me at ease.

"To be honest," Dylan interrupted, "I wish you guys were closer too. I love you both but it's so awkward between you."

"If you knew why," Donovan started in a small voice, "You'd never want to speak to me again."

I sighed and looked him directly in the eye. "Is this another one of those 'my brother is gay and I resent it' things?"

"No!"

"And if it was, he wouldn't be welcome here," Dad said loudly. "It shouldn't matter if you're gay or not. You're brothers."

"Exactly! So please, _please, _tell me what's going on between us. I just want us to be friends."

"You won't understand..."

"Try me."

"You won't... I don't want to... just... God..."

"Tell me, Don."

"I'm gay."

Everyone sat there in silence, unsure of what to say and how to feel about the situation. It was a shock to us all, but for me especially. After my coming out, Donovan had been the least supportive, the least understanding and the least welcoming towards me. He wasn't a brother to me after I'd finally come out of the closet. So for Donovan, my seemingly homophobic brother, to announce the reason behind our tense relationship was in fact his sexual orientation, was more shocking than the number of chemicals in Kurt's facial products.

"What?" Dad asked.

"I can't even... What?" Dylan asked too.

"Wow..." Katherine trailed off.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah... Well. Yeah. I have a boyfriend. So yeah. I'm sure."

The new information had us reeling. Donovan, with his busy life at college, far away from any of us, was _gay._ For me, it wasn't the fact that he was gay that made me feel such anger. It was the lack of trust and honesty that made my blood boil.

"Why wouldn't you tell me something like that?" I said rather viciously.

"Because of the way I treated you when you came out! I'd always been surrounded by those guys that call you gay or call you a fag if you mess up. It was an insult. It was always a bad thing to be considered gay. That's how I saw it, too. The whole idea of being gay was so... _wrong._ So I thought you were wrong for being gay before I found myself feeling things that scared me and..."

"...and then you realised that you were gay too," I finished for him quietly.

"Yeah..."

"You could have told me. Of everyone in the world, I would have understood perfectly."

"I didn't want to. After the way I treated you."

I scoffed. "Do you think I actually give a crap about that? Brothers are supposed to give each other a hard time. You didn't make my life hell, you never shoved me into lockers, you never spat in my face, you never threatened me with a knife in a deserted hallway and you never sent me death threats. You weren't anything like the bullies I had to deal with for being gay."

Donovan looked shocked and sad at the same time. He looked as though he had a million things to say but something was stopping his lips from uttering those words. He fidgeted and squirmed in his seat before looking me directly in the eye.

"Is that... the real reason you moved to Dalton?"

"Yes."

The room was once again silent, with only the distant sound of Charlotte laughing in the kitchen with Mom heard. I looked over to see Dylan's hands tightly intertwined with Katherine's. I felt Kurt grip my hands even tighter than they were before as I saw Dad stare at his feet, his eyes glazing over as though he wasn't really looking at anything.

We all heard Charlotte's Mary Janes skipping down the hall towards the living room before seeing her wild mane of curls poke out from around the corner.

"Dinner's ready and it's on the table. Mom said to come and get you."

"Thanks, honey," Dad said, finding the strength to stand up and walk towards Donovan. He wordlessly motioned to Dyl and Katherine to go ahead before clapping Donovan's back and urging him to stand and leave with him. As everyone left the room, Charlotte noticed Kurt and I still sitting there in the same positions.

"Blaine?"

I shook myself back into the moment. "Yeah, honeybee?"

"What's wrong?" she asked as she skipped over towards me and sat on my lap.

"Nothing, sweetie. Nothing to worry about."

"BLAINE ANDERSON!" Charlotte's sudden yell startled both Kurt and I so much that we both retracted our hands to cover our ears.

"Whoa! Calm down, missy!"

"I know when you're upset. It's a gift. I'm psycho."

I laughed, "That's _psychic_, honeybee."

"Whatever. Point is, something's wrong and I want to know what I can do to make you feel better."

I didn't know whether or not to tell Charlotte about Donovan. I decided against it, knowing that it was Donovan's news to share. But I still struggled with how to approach the request.

"Why don't you just give your brother a massive hug? I think he's just overwhelmed with seeing you all again," Kurt stepped in, throwing me a smile as I gave him a thankful look.

"Oh. Okay!" Charlotte's happy, bubbly personality came again as she wrapped her arms around me tightly and gave me the biggest hug she could. I knew that I'd feel a bit better as time went by, but nothing helped cheer me up more than a hug from the cutest little sister in the world. Yeah. I loved that girl.

"Thanks, honeybee. Can you run into the dining room and tell everyone we'll be there in a minute?"

"Okay. But I have to give Kurt a hug too!" she replied before jumping out of my lap and tackling Kurt backwards into the sofa and giving him the same, big hug she gave me.

"That is _adorable_," I said before I could stop myself. There was just something about seeing your two favourite people in the world get on. It felt like my heart was smiling – and that's a ridiculous analogy but that's the only way to describe it. Everything about me was happy in that moment. And as Charlotte unwrapped herself from Kurt and skipped back into the dining room, I turned to Kurt with the biggest, cheesiest grin on my face.

"Wow, quite a turnaround. You looked mighty depressed just a moment ago," he noted.

"Do you know how much I love you?" I asked, catching him off guard with such a random statement.

"I have an idea. A general ballpark," Kurt teased, intertwining our fingers once more.

"I really, _really _fucking love you, Kurt Hummel."

"I'm rather fond of you too, Mister Anderson."

"Hey!"

"I mean, I really fucking love you too, Blaine."

I leant in to kiss Kurt. It was sweet and it was deep; we were lost in the moment, as if the rest of the world melted away and it was just Kurt and I floating together. Our tongues found their usual rhythm, moving together slowly and gently. We broke apart at our own pace, just gazing into each other's eyes, before Kurt interrupted the glorious silence.

"What brought this on?" he asked.

"I just... You and Charlotte being so adorable made me realise how lucky I was."

"How so?"

"I looked at you both, when Charlotte gave you that hug... I couldn't help but think about how my two favourite people in the world were just so beautiful. I remembered just how much I love you both."

"In different ways, I hope," Kurt joked.

"Oh, dear god, YES!" I retorted, wanting every innuendo coming from that statement to disappear and never enter my thoughts again. "We should get to dinner."

"Yeah. Let's go," Kurt said, pulling me up by the hands and dragging me towards the dining room to face yet another infamous Anderson dinner.

Xxxxx

Sitting at the table with Kurt on my left, Charlotte on my right and Donovan, Dyl and Katherine directly opposite, the small talk echoing through the room, I found myself struggling to stop smiling. I couldn't stop thinking that it was as if I slept with a clothes hanger in my mouth. Or as if I slept with a banana in my mouth. A banana? Chimps eat those. Bananas look like penises. Ooh, penises.

As I was thinking those rather bizarre, amusing thoughts, Kurt's hand gripped my thigh underneath the table as he turned to look at me and winked. _Oh shit, _I thought. _He just had to do that. Now I'm fucking... Oh shit. This isn't good._ _Now I have this problem and he... stop winking Kurt!... holy shit. He knows. He's doing this on purpose. Are you kidding me?_

I was very aware that my thoughts and feelings and... current mood were wildly inappropriate to be having whilst sitting next to my baby sister. I did everything I could to snap out of it, from imagining naked girls to chimps to car accidents to old men in cardigans. But it was the image of a naked Sue Sylvester that helped ease my... _problem... _ and helped me get back to a normal, appropriate state. I made a mental note to thank Kurt for showing me last year's McKinley yearbook before joining in on the boring small-talk regarding Mom's book club.

The dinner went as the usual dinners did: Charlotte would always talk about school, music, ballet and her friend Corey; Dyl and Katherine would insult each other but then kiss each other in a way that made us swoon and want to throw up at the same time; Donovan avoided saying much at all; and Dad and Mom talked about their various activities, mostly consisting of Book Club and Dad's golf tournament.

Mom's cooking was superb, as always, and we'd all stuffed ourselves so much that we'd resembled pregnant women. Except for Katherine, who seemed to be bursting out of her maternity clothes and resembling a woman due for birth any moment. We finished our dinner and waddled to the living room after Mom refused to let anyone help with the washing up. She offered to make us all coffee, an offer of which we all excepted (save for Charlotte, opting for a hot chocolate instead). Again, we found ourselves in the same awkward seats we were in before, lost for ideas as to how to converse. Thankfully, Charlotte decided to play her latest song on the upright piano against the wall of the room.

Charlotte's musical talent had always astounded me. I'd always had to work at my skills to get songs right, but she could write songs and perform them flawlessly without any effort. And her latest song, while the lyrics were still well within the butterflies and rainbows genre, was so beautifully seamless. I found myself humming harmonies while Kurt joined in with a higher harmony to compliment Charlotte's voice. The others were silent, but the room no longer had the sense of awkwardness about it. Everyone was feeling the music. Everyone was appreciating the moment we were in.

After the song, we applauded Charlotte as she bowed and curtsied like the true performer she is.

"That was beautiful, Char," Dad grinned, as proud as he could be. "You're just like your brother. Incredibly talented."

"I think this one beats me in the talent competition, Dad," I said, as Charlotte came to sit in my lap.

"So," I said, wanting to break the tension with Donovan, let bygones be bygones and be as supportive as possible, "Tell us about your boyfriend."

"Yeah," Kurt said, "Tell us, is he cute? Can we approve of him? Does he wear good clothes?"

Dyl and Katherine laughed, and Donovan smirked just the tiniest bit before answering. "Yeah. He's a good dresser. A very good dresser."

"Oh. I sense innuendos," Dyl said, resulting in a laugh and a soft hit from Katherine.

"No innuendos," Donovan laughed genuinely for the first time in years. "He's just... amazing."

"What's his name?" Katherine asked warmly.

"Josh," Donovan replied as I felt Kurt's hands grip mine tightly.

"I'm sure... it can't be the same Josh, Blaine. There's thousands of Josh's around the place," Kurt whispered in my ear, desperately.

"Yeah," I whispered back. _It couldn't be him,_ I thought.

Donovan forgot himself and started gushing about his Josh, actually looking happy for the first time in however many years. Charlotte interrupted and asked a lot of questions, supposedly cranky at Don for not actually telling her before anyone else. After finishing the washing up, Mom came in and sat on Dad's lap where they gazed into each other's eyes. I looked over and Dyl and Katherine were doing the exact same thing. It was beautiful, romantic and just so nice to see everyone happy again. I pushed out the suspicions I had in relation to the identity of Don's boyfriend to concentrate on my own, beautiful boyfriend. We were gazing into each other's eyes, too. But then he winked at me as the tip of his tongue quickly licked his lower lip. He knew what he was doing to me.

The problem I had previously was growing. I moved Charlotte off of my lap, because that was so _awkward_, before taking both of Kurt's hands in both of mine and squeezing them tight. _Too _tight.

"If you can stop now," I whispered in his ears, too quiet for anybody but Kurt to hear, "you may find yourself in a rather amazing position later tonight."

"Oh really?" He whispered back.

"Yeah, only if you're good."

_**Thanks to my lovely readers. You're wonderful.**_

_**My life is currently drama-free. I'm writing a bit more. This is a longer chapter (slightly) so I hope you like it. Please review and tell me what you think!**_

_**Warning: smut ahead. Just sayin'. Do you want it? **_


	29. Chapter 29

_**Warning: Smut ahead. I've warned you. Yes. There's smut. I tried to make it sweet and passionate rather than sexy and sex and hot and sweat. Just because this was hard to write. There'll be more opportunities to include sexier smut though. I don't know. Tell me what you think.**_

The after-dinner coffees finally made their way to us via mother dearest. Upon taking our coffees from the tray Mom was offering them from, Kurt turned to me, grinning wildly.

"What?" I asked, amused.

"What time is it, Blaine?"

I checked my watch.

"7:02," I replied, smiling.

"Coffee at seven," Kurt said.

We sat there smiling for a few minutes before the conversation picked up again. We talked, as a family, about the Charlotte's upcoming recital, Donovan's upcoming game, Katherine's baby names, Dylan's hatred of Katherine's baby names and even about the upcoming sectionals competition for the Warblers. The conversation was kept family-friendly until Charlotte, upon much prodding and argument with Mom and Dad, was forced to go to bed at 8:00pm since she had dance rehearsals the next day. She jumped on top of Kurt and I, nearly spilling our coffees, and hugged us tighter than she'd hugged us all night – which meant that we were gasping for air, since that girl was surprisingly strong. She kissed us both on the cheeks as I ruffled her hair, before she jumped off and looked at us, with an indistinct look on her face.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" I asked her, holding her hand.

"I'm just so happy that you've got Kurt," she said, smiling while a small tear escaped from the corner of her beautiful eyes.

"I'm pretty happy, too," I said, taking Kurt's hand with my free one.

"And..." she started, trailing off before shaking her hand and turning to leave the room.

"What, honeybee? Tell me."

Charlotte turned to look at us once again, beaming. "Kurt's gonna be a great big brother-in-law. I love him already. You picked well, Blaine."

I felt Kurt stiffen next to me, before turning to face him and addressing Charlotte while addressing Kurt at the same time. "I think I did too."

Charlotte skipped off to bed after saying goodnight to the rest of the family, and the conversation picked up once again. The topics varied from Jane Eyre to which relative was just admitted to rehab to which one of Dad's colleagues was arrested for embezzlement. I felt really grown-up, sitting there with my siblings and parents, drinking coffee and sitting hand-in-hand with my boyfriend. It felt right.

The gathering eventually ended when Katherine started feeling nauseous, which was a bit of a moodkiller. Kurt and I said goodnight to Dyl, Katherine and Dad before Mom led us to my old room.

"Here you go," she said, pointing to the bed, "I changed the sheets, I vacuumed and I shoved all of Blaine's crap into his wardrobe so it's not _everywhere_."

"Thanks, Mom," I said, with a hint of sarcasm indicating that her exaggeration of the state of my bedroom wasn't entirely appreciated in front of Kurt.

"You're welcome," she said, before taking my face in both her hands and planting a big, lipstick-staining kiss on my forehead. "Goodnight, boys."

"Thanks Mrs Anderson," Kurt said gratefully. "Would you like us to keep the door open?"

"Oh god no. If anything, for Charlotte's sake, lock it. We don't want to corrupt her just yet with your shirtlessness. Especially Blaine and his third nipple."

"You have a third nipple?" Kurt turned to me, mouth gaping open.

"NO! I DO NOT HAVE A THIRD NIPPLE!"

"YOU DO TOO!" Dad shouted from the hallway as he walked past.

"Night," Mom said before making a quick escape, shutting the door behind her.

Kurt chuckled as he reached for both of my hands, turning to face me head-on.

"She's hilarious," he said, squeezing my hands in a reassuring way.

"She's insane," I said, returning the squeeze.

"Thank you for inviting me over, Blaine. I've had a good night."

"That's good. I'm glad you weren't tormented, they were on their good behaviour, I guess."

"They weren't bad at all."

"Good to hear."

We leant in, wordlessly, meeting in the middle with a soft, sweet kiss. It was brief, with our lips meeting with the slightest bit of pressure. Our foreheads leant against one another as we played with our intertwined hands. I'd been looking down at our hands leading up to that moment, but I looked straight at Kurt to see that he was smiling. I moved in kissed him again, this time for longer than the fifteen second kiss we'd shared just a few seconds prior.

"So... about tonight," I said, after we'd broken apart, "you're in trouble, Kurt."

"Why, whatever do you mean?" Kurt said with a sly grin.

"You know what I mean," I said, in-between kissing Kurt's bottom lip. "Your hand... my thigh... certain feelings arising..."

"Ahh," Kurt said, not able to get much more out as his arms had slid up around my neck and he was concentrating on returning every kiss possible.

"You're in so much trouble," I said, finally breaking our lips apart and looking him straight in the eyes with a forced frown.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"So you should be, I was sitting next to my sister. That's way too awkward for my liking."

"Oh. I didn't even think about that," Kurt giggled.

"No, I bet you didn't. I'm just going to have to wait for an apology before..."

"...before what?"

I refused to answer him, instead just ducking out his arms and running across the room and jumping onto the bed so that I was finally taller than him.

"Before _anything _happens tonight," I said, with a wink.

"Oh, Blaine Anderson," Kurt started, dropping to his knees like the drama queen he is, "I am so terribly sorry for causing the unexpected arousal of yours at your family dinner. I understand that a purpling bulge is not what one may have expected whilst eating next to one's younger sister. Please forgive me."

I laughed at the creativity of Kurt's apology. "Okay, you're forgiven. But if you don't get up here right now so I can kiss you, you _will _be in trouble."

Kurt immediately stood before jumping onto the bed and throwing his arms around me so hard, we almost fell backwards. His arms were tight around my neck as my arms wound their way around his waist. Our lips had met immediately, with a sense of urgency and passion forcing them to lock together. We were breathless, and every sense was heightened. I felt my spine tingle as Kurt's tongue asked for entry, to which I parted my mouth and allowed our tongues to battle in the same way our lips had just done. Kurt pulled us even closer, so our chests were flat against each other's and our legs were intertwined too. It was beautiful and magical and everything just _fit perfectly_.

I remembered how far we'd gotten last time, in Kurt's bedroom, while he was sick. It'd only been ourselves and our hands, and in the very end, Kurt's hand on me. But I didn't want to force anything. I didn't want to overstep any boundaries. I just wanted to be _whole _with Kurt, no matter when or where. I knew we had to actually talk about it.

"Kurt," I started, reluctantly breaking our lips apart.

"Yeah?" Kurt said, turning his attention to my neck instead.

"We need to talk about this..."

"About what?"

"I don't want to go too far... or hurt you. I never want to hurt you or force you into anything."

Kurt took a step back as his hands found mine. He pulled me down so that we were both sitting on my bed on the crisp, clean sheets (for which I made a mental note to thank Mom for washing them later).

"Blaine," Kurt sighed, "I knew that... we were going to end up here regardless. Whether it's tonight or tomorrow or a few weeks from now, it's going to happen. Because it's _us_. But I'm... ready and waiting and willing to be _completely yours._"

"Are you... are you sure?"

"Of course. I _love you_, Blaine. And... after everything... it feels right just being with you. And I want to be with you completely."

"What if you have second thoughts?"

"Then I'll tell you. Because I know you're not the kind of person to push me."

"I'd never push you. Never."

"I know."

It was as if we both understood the entirety of what was about to happen with those words. We didn't need to say anything more – we just needed to be together, in every possible sense of the word.

We fell backwards, no longer but sitting but lying horizontally. Our arms reached around one another yet again as we kissed with so much more passion than any other kiss we'd had. Our tongues were fighting for dominance yet again, but this time Kurt's hands were feeling their way around my body. They moved to my neck and tugged softly at my hair before travelling down my torso and sliding underneath my shirt to feel my chest.

"Is this okay?" Kurt said breathlessly.

"Of course," I said, "but I'd prefer it if were both shirtless, to be honest."

Kurt laughed before pressing his lips to mine again while pushing me up and unbuttoning my shirt. He'd slid it off my shoulders and thrown it to the other side of the room before moving my hands to his shirt so I could do the same. Before we knew it, we were both shirtless and laying back down together. I was above Kurt, with our chests _just _touching. The feel of our bare skin was incredible, and as we kissed deeper and deeper it felt beyond amazing. I moved my hand so I could feel Kurt's chest and take it in, and I felt so taken aback by the way everything about him made my heart flutter like a teenage girl.

By this stage, I was hard, and Kurt knew it. I was sure he could feel it against his knee, but I felt him against my lower torso, so we were in the same boat. It wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be, rather it gave me incentive to keep going.

Our tongues were meeting the middle and moving with each other whilst our hands kept moving to feel _everything_. Kurt's hands were suddenly tight on my ass and I moaned slightly at just how good that felt. I moved over so that I was completely on top of Kurt, using one arm to steady myself so that I didn't completely smother and overwhelm him. Our bodies were pressed together, and just as our tongues had found a rhythm, so hard our bodies. We were rubbing up against each other, with Kurt's hands firmly on my ass and our bulges pressed together, causing extreme pleasure for us both. Kurt moaned in my mouth causing me to do the same as his hands squeezed my ass and pushed it down harder, causing even more friction as we moved together.

The pleasure was almost too much to handle. Everything in my body was tingling and I was struggling to catch my breath as we moved together, just the two of us. We hadn't gotten around to removing our pants but we both knew that we would come any second.

We moved faster and faster, pressing together even harder on every movement, and continued kissing with our sore lips until the moans became too much to suppress. We couldn't kiss properly, so I moved to kiss Kurt's jaw and neck as we moved together, stopping when the pleasure got too much and continuing again when I'd hear Kurt's moans of pleasure. Our speed increased even more, with one of Kurt's hands moving to feel my chest and clutch at my shoulder. Kurt's eyes were closed, and I strained to keep mine open as I watched his breathing hitch as we moved faster, harder, faster and harder before Kurt's body seized up and shuddered. Beads of sweat rolled from his neck to his chest and as he shuddered uncontrollably, moaning with pleasure and repeating my name, I felt myself lose control and experience the exact same thing. It was unbearable, the pleasure. My hips rocked forward as I shuddered and moaned and as Kurt's name kept rolling off of my tongue.

When we'd both found ourselves completely exhausted and sensitive, I slumped forward and to the right just a bit so that I was no longer lying directly on top of Kurt. I remained as close as possible, forcing my tired body to move closer to kiss him as deeply as possible.

"Thank you," I whispered, taking his cheek in one hand and moving forward to kiss him again.

Kurt responded with the same amount of force, albeit exhausted, before replying, "Anytime, Anderson. We are _so _doing that again."

_**Okay. Another author's note, just because I can.**_

_**I've had so many 'favourite author' and 'favourite story' notifications – even when I haven't been updating – and that has made me squeal and carry on like a fangirl at a Darren Criss concert. (Good analogy?)**_

_**Thank you for your support. I appreciate every single favourite and especially every review. Your reviews keep me inspired, and they get me going. I wouldn't be able to write another chapter if it weren't for your words of encouragement or ideas or comments about how to proceed. I really appreciate everything. So please keep them coming – sometimes I just really need inspiration!**_

_**Thank you. You're all so incredibly lovely. I'm sending you all butterfly kisses as we speak. (:**_


	30. Chapter 30

_**This is dedicated to dearest Ellen (dontyoublogmebaby on tumblr) for being so incredibly nice and lovely and humorous in regards to this fic. She really inspired me to write this chapter.**_

_**Please review and let me know what you think, it keeps me writing. Also, when I hit 200 reviews, I'll be recording and uploading **_**KurtieBear CuddleTime **_**as a video clip, rap and everything. Incentive? I hope so. Enjoy!**_

Kurt and I awoke the next morning (in our PJ's, since we had cleaned up after our rendezvous) to the sound of Charlotte banging on the door, desperately trying to jiggle the lock enough to get in.

"BLAAAAAAAAAINE! KUUUUUUUUUURRRRRT! GET UUUUUUUUUUUP! LET ME INNNNNNNNNNNN!" she yelled through the door, much to our dismay as we yawned and stretched our way out of bed. We walked slowly in a completely unbalance manner to the door, rubbing our eyes and trying to stop each other from realising how bad morning breath could actually be.

No sooner had I opened and unlocked the door had Charlotte bounced in and almost toppled us over.

"Good morning!" she said brightly.

"Good morning, honeybee," I said, picking her up and giving her a hug.

"Why don't you have shirts on?" she asked, confused.

"Because we're boys. Boys don't have to wear shirts to bed," Kurt said quickly while I gave him a quick look of thanks.

"Makes sense," she said, before I let her back down on the ground.

"Mom said breakfast will be ready soon, and that she wanted you two to be presentable."

"Oh, did she?" I laughed.

"Yeah," Charlotte said, deadpan serious. "And she put extra emphasis on the 'presentable' part."

With that, Charlotte skipped out of the room, probably to try to steal a few pancakes before the rest of us sat down for breakfast.

"She's got energy," Kurt said, still rubbing his eyes in order to gain focus.

"That she does. I have no idea where she got that from, I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, but you remember what we did last night, don't you?"

I pretended to forget for a minute before responding. "OH! That! That'd explain why I woke up feeling satisfied, ecstatic and completely and utterly IN LOVE!" I said, pulling Kurt in as his arms wrapped around my neck.

"Possibly," Kurt said with a cheeky grin. "Thank-you for last night, too. It meant a lot to me."

"Did it?"

"Of course. It was a lot more than just feeling good, you know?"

"Yeah. I do."

At that moment, Donovan walked past in his pyjamas, though he was wearing a varsity sweatshirt so his chest was covered. He took one look into the room and wolf-whistled before hurrying off, possibly in fear of retaliation.

"Looks like he's gonna be a bit more fun to hang around now," I noted, remembering the smirk on his face and the way he actually looked more at ease in just being himself.

"Not as much fun as you," Kurt said, leaning forward so our foreheads were resting against one another's.

"Or you."

"Bitch please, I'm fabulous."

Xxxxxxxx

Kurt and I found shirts and made our way to breakfast, where we encountered some snide remarks from Donovan regarding our shirtlessness, various inappropriate innuendos from Mom and several interrogations as to our plans for the day from Dad. We ate the beautifully fluffy pancakes (thank you, Mom) before going to have showers, organising our belongings and getting ready to go. I was to drop Kurt off at his house in Lima, where we were sure his dad would also partake in the 'let's embarrass our teenage son' game.

We found ourselves in the driveway, with Charlotte, Donovan, Mom and Dad. We gave each person a hug and in Charlotte's case, a tackle, before jumping in the car and waving them off. Mom yelled out the usual "drive safe!" as we reversed out of the driveway, and it wasn't too long before we were on the open road on our way to Lima.

Kurt's hand had found mine, and although it still made my heart skip a beat, it was no longer a surprise. It was something we did so often now. It was _us_.

We drove along in silence, but that was okay. We didn't need to speak or say anything. We'd said so much already. The long drive didn't seem to take as long as it should have been, but perhaps that was simply because I didn't really want to drop Kurt off. I didn't want to part with him. And it seemed ridiculous that at the age of seventeen, I could actually feel this way about someone. It felt as though we shouldn't have had to part – we should have been able to go home together, spend the day together, do everything together and grow old together. I knew I was a hopeless romantic, but I didn't realise just how hopeless I was.

I didn't feel this way with Josh. At all. I didn't feel this way about anybody at all prior to Kurt. I couldn't have. Because Kurt was different. Kurt was unique. Kurt was the part of me I never knew I was missing. And as much as his never-ending facial routine annoyed me, and as much as his divalicious attitude confused me sometimes, he was it. And I knew it.

Xxxxx

_Three days later_

Waking up to _KurtieBear CuddleTime _reinforced that I was actually waking up in my dorm room and yes, Jeff was very much alive and well. Though I did feel guilty that I was spending more time with Kurt than Jeff, Nick and the other Warblers, every guilt-ridden thought was erased from my mind whenever I heard the opening chords to that ridiculous song.

"Shut it off, Jeff!" I said harshly, throwing my covers off, jumping out of bed and sauntering over to Jeff with a menacing glare.

"Oh come on, you should be thanking me!"

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"It's six-thirty, and your own alarm didn't go off. I just saved your ass with your boyfriend. Which means you owe me. Big time."

"Yeah, actually, that was... yeah. Good timing. Thanks, man."

"You're welcome... Blaineyboo."

I decided to ignore Jeff's attempt to annoy me in favour of preparing my fine, dapper self into a sexy boyfriend, a task that no longer took that much time since Kurt liked my wild curls untamed. It took around five minutes to have a quick shower and get changed, especially since preparing an outfit was easy with the Dalton uniform ready for wear. I'd made myself presentable before heading straight to the coffee shop to meet Kurt, knowing that I would be early and hoping to buy everything before Kurt could even try.

On my way, my phone started ringing with an unknown number. I didn't usually answer unknown calls, but I was in a pretty good mood and answered it regardless.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Blaine? It's Mercedes, from McKinley."

Kurt talked about Mercedes a lot, as she was his best friend. I didn't think anything of her calling me out of the blue.

"Oh hey. How'd you get my number?"

"Puckerman."

"Ah," I said. After hearing Kurt reminisce about McKinley, I knew all about the things New Directions kids got up to.

"I need to talk to you about Kurt's birthday," she said, with somewhat of a fierce tone about her. I didn't know whether or not to be afraid, but given all the info I'd heard from Kurt, she was an even bigger diva than Kurt himself.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Did you have any plans?"

I laughed, "Other than spoiling my boyfriend rotten and just being with him, no. I wasn't sure if his family was gonna do something or not or if he wanted to catch up with you guys or something."

"Okay, well we have this plan. We want you to bring him to McKinley, and we're just gonna tell him that we're meeting there before going to the movies for his birthday. Low-key, make it seem like it's not a big deal."

"And what would actually be happening?"

"Ahh, the good part! New Directions have been planning a surprise for him ever since he left. We miss him so much, like you have no idea. So we're gonna put on a show for our favourite Gaga-maniac, and then all party hard at Rachel's afterwards."

"Sounds like fun. Is it weird that I don't know any of you guys, though? Like... with me helping to organise and stuff? You've known him longer..."

"Don't be silly, white boy, Kurt loves you, therefore we automatically love you. Unless you break our baby boy's heart, in which case, we _will _cut you."

I was slightly taken aback by how _ghetto_ Mercedes sounded, all the while, sounding just as diva-like as she had before.

"Alright, sounds fair. I promise I wouldn't ever hurt Kurt."

"We figured. The way he talks about you... god. If you were straight, I'd be all over you."

"Uhm... thanks?"

"Ahah, don't worry your little head off. I'm gonna go now, it's close to seven and you need to be on time for your date. But don't tell Kurt a thing. I'll call you again tomorrow with more details."

"Okay, thanks Mercedes."

"Anytime. Take care of my boy!"

"Will do."

We hung up just as I reached the coffee shop and saw Kurt walking towards me from the opposite direction.

"Who was that?" he asked, noting the phone I was stowing away in the deep pocket of my Dalton-issued pants.

"Ah, just Katherine wanting an opinion on a baby name."

"Just to defy Dylan?" Kurt guessed.

"Of course," I replied, cringing internally about how I had to lie but knowing that it was all to make Kurt happy in the end.

I grabbed Kurt's hand in mine and opened the door for him, gesturing for him to go inside ahead of me. He winked at me before running to the counter, reciting our usual order at a speed unknown to man and throwing his card at the poor woman working there.

I laughed at the Kurt's adorable eagerness and his excited nature, before resigning to the fact that he had won that morning. I walked straight over to the cutlery bench, collecting spoons, knives for our bagels, sachets of sugar and sweetener for Kurt and lids for our coffees – so that we could wander around the school before heading off to class.

It didn't take long for our order to be made, since they expected us every day they usually had some of it prepared the minute we walked in the door. I helped Kurt carry everything back to the table – our table – and sat down, smiling in that same childish way I did every single morning when we did the exact same thing.

"How are you?" Kurt asked, just like he did every morning.

"I'm spectacular," I replied, just like I did every morning. "How are you?"

"I'm actually rather pissed off," Kurt said, his voice shifting to a huffed, annoyed tone.

"Oh, why?"

Kurt sighed and crossed his arms. "My hair-straightener broke."

If it was anyone else, I would have laughed, but I knew how important it was to Kurt. After all, he prided himself on his looks, and if his quaff wasn't quaffed like it should be quaffed, then you could pretty much get quaffed.

"Aw, I'm sure Jeff will let you borrow his."

Kurt stopped and looked confused for a moment. "Jeff has a hair-straightener?"

"Ha! Of course he does! How else would he complete his Bieber hairstyle?"

"Yeah, he needs a haircut."

"Yes," I laughed, "he does."

"Okay. I might ask him. Thanks, baby."

"No problem," I said, before reaching for his coffee, adding the sweetener and stirring it for him before handing it over again.

"Ah! My hero!" Kurt said, mocking my love for Disney princesses and the damsel-in-distress genre.

"Hey!" I said, pretending to be hurt.

"You love it," he said with a wink, forcing me to smile goofily all over again.

"I do..."

We sipped our coffees and ate our bagels until Kurt, out of the blue, decided to make it his mission to make me laugh.

"So... you had your third nipple removed?"

I spat out some of my coffee, narrowly avoiding Kurt's scarf. I took my time mopping the mess up with the napkins before turning my attention to the evil boyfriend sitting across from me.

"No. I never had one."

"But your Mom said-"

"No. I never had one."

"-and then your Dad said-"

"No. I never had one."

"Okay, chimpboy."

"Hey! Low-blow!"

"You totally had a third nipple at some stage."

"Did not."

"What was it, then?"

"...Mom called it a nubbin."

Kurt laughed, rocking back on his chair.

"What?" I asked.

"It's nubbin- NOTHING! I mean, it's nothing!"

"Oh, Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, you're in trouble now!"

Kurt looked legitimately worried as he jumped up, slung his bookbag strap over his shoulder, grabbed his coffee and made a beeline. He ran outside, with me trailing behind after doing the same bookbag/coffee dance. We were both running at full speed out the coffee shop, stopping abruptly just outside the door as we heard what was playing over the PA system:

"_IT'S KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME_

_BECAUSE THAT BOY IS MIGHTY FINE_

_ALL BLAINE CAN THINK IS "HE'S ALL MINE"_

_IT'S KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME!_

_PORCELAIN SKIN AND EYES SO BLUE_

_HE'S GOT A PRETTY RAD WARDROBE TOO_

_BLAINE THINKS HE'S SO BEAUTIFUL_

_WITH PORCELAIN SKIN AND EYES SO BLUE_

_IT'S KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME_

_BECAUSE THAT BOY IS MIGHTY FINE_

_ALL BLAINE CAN THINK IS "HE'S ALL MINE"_

_IT'S KURTIEBEAR CUDDLE TIME!_

_BLAINE'S IN LOVE, HE'LL SERENADE_

_HIS LOVE, KURT, EVERYDAY_

_WARBLER HISTORY WILL BE MADE_

_WITH THE BLAINE & KURT LOVE PARADE!"_

"Oh my GOD," Kurt looked shocked, rooted to the spot he was standing.

"I'm going to kill him. Literally kill him."

Passersby saw us, clearly amused with the song blasting through the speakers on campus, and gave us nods or waves of encouragement and occasionally, high-fives and a "DUDE! THAT'S HILARIOUS!"

Kurt and I stood there, unsure of how to think, speak or proceed. The song stopped abruptly, before Jeff's voiced echoed out through campus, "Have fun today, Blaineyboy!"

"What should we do? It was funny, but god. That could have gone horribly wrong," Kurt said, taking my hand and beginning to walk.

I pondered that thought for a moment, trying to keep my thoughts focused on Kurt's question rather than letting them trail off into a Kurt's hair/Kurt's eyes/Kurt's body/Kurt's voice/chimpanzee daydream.

"Let's not do anything," I said. "I'm pretty sure he's gonna get it from admin." I remembered Jeff's last PA prank – it left him with a detention with the science teacher with seriously bad B.O.

"Of course. Professor Martin. Here's hoping Jeff _does _get in trouble for that one."

Kurt and I continued walking to our homeroom classes, drinking the last of our coffees and disposing of our empty cups along the way. Just walking with Kurt made me so happy, like it always did. I felt like I was flying. I felt all bubbly and light and fluttery. I'd just gaze into Kurt's eyes, forgetting that the rest of the world even existed. I lost myself in his eyes, concentrating on his breathing and the way mine just seemed to be in sync.

My phone started vibrating and going off in my pocket. I hesitated for a moment before reluctantly withdrawing myself from Kurt to look at it. Seeing that it was Donovan calling, I answered it.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Blaine?" Donovan's voice was all choked up and much deeper than I'd ever heard it. It was throaty, and it sounded like he'd been crying. Immediately, I seized up.

"What's wrong?" I asked, panicked, with Kurt looking at me in concern.

"It's Charlotte."

_**Please review, it inspires me to keep going. **_


	31. Chapter 31

_***Strong language warning.***_

"_It's Charlotte."_

_Fuck. No. Tell me she's okay. Tell me there's nothing wrong with her. Tell me she's healthy. Tell me that she's fine._

"What's wrong?" I whispered, frightened.

"She's... uhm..." Donovan choked up, and I could hear him attempting to clear his hoarse throat. But he wasn't talking quick enough. And when it came to Charlotte, I wasn't about to be rational.

"What the fuck is wrong? Is she okay?"

"Blaine..."

"Donovan, fuck, just tell me!"

A moment of silence. A moment of dread.

Kurt squeezed my hand.

"She's missing. She's been taken."

Suddenly, I was sinking into this black hole where nothing could ever be okay again, ever. I dropped my phone – I'd found myself too weak to even hold it to my ear. I crumbled, slumped down and found myself breathing heavily, seated on the icy, wet cobblestone path. I couldn't think. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak.

Charlotte was gone.

She'd been taken.

_Why? How? And who the fuck took her away from us?_

Xxxxxx

Somehow I'd wound up back in my dorm, sitting cross-legged on my bed with a pillow on my lap, staring intently at my phone im my hands, hoping, wishing and praying to every higher being in every possible religion that this was a joke. Or that I'd get a call saying Charlotte's okay and that she's back home and everything's fine.

_But my fucking phone wouldn't ring._

I'm not a vindictive person. I'm not violent, I'm not hateful or spiteful, and I've never wished anyone harm or death before in my life. But the person who took my Charlotte, my honeybee? If I ever got my hands on that person, who knows what I'd be capable of?

Kurt was pacing the room. He'd been trying to find words to comfort me, and as much as I loved him, I had this overwhelming urge to tell him to shut up and go away, because _I wasn't the one needing comfort. _Wherever Charlotte was, she was sure to be out of her mind with worry, confusion and fear. The only thing I wanted to do in this world – even if it meant giving up absolutely everything in my life just to have it – was to have my honeybee run up to me so I could hug her close and tell her that everything was okay, that no one could ever hurt her.

But I couldn't. I couldn't help. I wasn't even there when it happened. I didn't even know _what _had happened. Donovan had barely been able to choke out the main information before Kurt had to take over, but Kurt had said that he hadn't received any more information than I had.

They say you're never supposed to blame yourselves in that kind of situation. But the only thoughts running through my mind were _Why wasn't I there to protect her? _and _Why couldn't I prevent this from happening? _and _Why the fuck am I sitting here at Dalton while my little sister is MISSING?_

My phone started ringing. Kurt and I looked at each other immediately before I answered, fingers trembling.

"Mom?" I answered immediately, seeing Mom's name on the caller ID.

"Blaine," Mom choked out, it was obvious that she had been sobbing desperately for quite some time.

"Mom?" I said again, with pleading and desperation evident in my voice.

"Please come home. We need you. Please."

Mom sounded so broken beyond measure, so small and so _different_. I'd been crying for a long time, but the tears had dried up. I had a million words to say but not enough vocal strength to actually speak.

"I'm coming."

That's all I needed to say and that's all I needed to do. Fuck school and their policies. Fuck education, fuck my future – I didn't want to live a life without Charlotte in it. And fuck it, I needed Kurt there with me or else I wouldn't cope at _all._

"Okay," Mom said softly, sounding slightly relieved but still sniffing and sobbing quietly through the phone.

"I'm bringing Kurt," I said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Okay," Mom said again before she hung up abruptly. I figured she was going to lose it. She sounded so broken and so lost, I don't think she cared about anything other than having her family back together.

I hung up the phone and sat there for a minute as Kurt came over to me, wiped the tears from my cheeks, kissed my forehead and pulled me close to him. He forced me into a hug, and I resisted at first, not wanting to admit that I needed support but fuck it, I did, and as I felt Kurt's heart pound away frighteningly fast I felt as though he was just as worried and upset as I was. I felt myself melt into him, grasping onto him tightly and pulling him as close as I could. I let myself go. I was sobbing and screaming as the tears wouldn't stop falling. All I felt were pain, guilt and shame and I felt like my whole world was crumbling. I found myself remembering all the times Charlotte and I would cover Disney songs together and put on shows while I babysat. I found myself remembering that one day that she decided to make me some brownies as a surprise but put three times the proper amount of cocoa into the mix. I found myself remembering the first time she walked over to me as a toddler and the first time she said my name. I found myself remembering her preschool musical, where she sang and tap-danced as a bumblebee, thus earning her nickname – she was my honeybee.

And she was gone.

We didn't know where she was.

We didn't know how she was.

Hell, we didn't even know if she was still alive.

And even with Kurt's arms around me, holding me close, and even with him whispering, "It's okay, baby," in my ear and kissing my forehead, a big part of me was missing. I was sinking, I was falling. I needed my honeybee.

_**Short chapter, I know. I feel like with the rise of tension, shorter chapters work better, but let me know what you think – I could be really, really wrong.**_

_**I'm sorry this is sad and upsetting and somewhat disheartening. And that this chapter is short.**_

_**Please review, it keeps me going.**_


	32. Chapter 32

The drive to my house was agonising. Kurt offered to drive, but I refused – I needed something to concentrate on. Something to distract me. Something to prevent me from falling apart when I knew that Mom was sinking even lower than I was. Kurt held my hand for the entire drive, tightening his grip every few seconds. Despite feeling like I'd lost everything, I still had Kurt. And knowing he was there made it just that tiniest bit easier to keep driving.

We were silent the entire team, but I think I preferred it that way. Pretending like everything was okay would have just been wrong, but talking and over-analysing the situation without even knowing the details. I didn't want to consider any of the possibilities. I didn't even want to admit what was going on, to be honest. I didn't care about anything except the safe return of my baby sister.

Driving into the driveway and parking in front of the garage door, I saw Charlotte's pink bicycle in my peripheral vision. It was just sitting there, unused, probably discolouring in the harsh sun. I took deep, heavy breaths and avoided looking it directly as best I could. I didn't need any reminders of the way Charlotte would ride freely in her flowery sundresses, laughing with her head tilted back and her beautiful, deep brown curls flying in the wind behind her. I didn't need that.

After parking and breathing deeply, Kurt squeezed my hand once more. I looked at him once with a small, small smile, hoping that would convey the thanks I couldn't speak. We both took our time getting out of the car and walking to the door. I didn't knock, like I usually would – Charlotte would always be the one to answer the door.

It seemed like every single memory of Charlotte stabbed at my chest. I knew brothers wouldn't usually feel _this _upset at the thought of their missing little sister. But I loved her. Perhaps it was the age difference that allowed us to be so close, or maybe it was just Charlotte's unique personality. Either way, it didn't matter. We were so extraordinarily close. She understood me better than anyone, and for someone that young to be so accepting, so carefree and so kind-hearted was rare. That made her disappearance so much harder for me to deal with.

Kurt wrapped his arm around my waist as we walked in. I knew Mom was a stress-baker, so I led Kurt straight into the kitchen. Sure enough, she was in the kitchen as we walked in. But she wasn't baking. She was sitting on a bar stool against the breakfast bar bench, holding her mug of tea in her hands but staring off into space. Her eyes were glassy, and she looked pale and so ghost-like. She wasn't wearing makeup, nor had she changed out of her pyjamas.

"Mom..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say but making my presence known nonetheless.

"Blaine, oh thank god," she said, slamming her tea onto the bench, sliding off of her seat and rushing over to me. She threw her arms around me as I did the same, letting go of Kurt's hand in favour of Mom, because at that moment, she needed me more. The minute Mom leant forward with her head resting on my shoulder, she started sobbing. Wailing, even. She was almost screaming in emotional pain and I finally let myself break down too. While I wasn't anywhere near as loud, I was still losing it. A constant stream of tears could be found on both of our cheeks as we held onto each other as tight as possible. I was leaning on Mom and she was leaning on me. We were both trying to stay strong for each other, yet breaking down at the same time. Mom's heartbreaking cries were echoing through the kitchen, and I'm sure they were echoing down the hallway and through the rest of the house too.

Mom's cries must have been loud enough for anyone to hear, as Dad and Donovan came rushing into the room. They stopped at the door, before Dad walked over and put his arms around the two of us.

"It'll be okay," he said softly, as I heard his voice choke up just a little, too.

"It'll be okay."

xxxxxxxxxx

It took at least forty-five minutes for us call to calm down and collect ourselves. The tears had just run dry; the need to cry was still there. We found ourselves sitting the living room, much like we were just a few nights prior. Cold cups of tea sat in our hands, yet we still took sips – or pretended to – in an effort to remain somewhat normal. But the silence was too much for me. I needed to know the details.

"Mom? Dad?... what happened?"

Dad sighed, staring down at his feet.

"I have to know. I _have to._"

Kurt put his arm around my back, squeezing my side and reminding me that he was there.

"I know you do," Dad said. "I'll tell you."

"Refill?" Mom interrupted, leaping up from her chair and practically sprinting into the kitchen. There was no doubt what she was doing – she didn't want to hear the details all over again.

"Charlotte... she'd been hiding in her room for a while. We didn't think much of it, because she's always writing songs and she's always adamant that no one could hear them before they were finished... but it was breakfast time and she hadn't responded to any of us when we'd called her name – and Don and his friend Josh were yelling too, you know?"

I felt a sudden pang of insecurity on hearing the name 'Josh'. It couldn't possibly be the same Josh. But given everything that the Josh I know was capable of, could it be possible that he was using my brother and my sister to get to me? _To hurt me_?

"...Your Mom and I went through the house calling her name, and then I heard a scream from the front of the house. Don and I ran to the front door, and just as we'd gotten outside I... fuck... I saw this guy take her. Just picked her up and threw her in the van like she was an unwanted package. She was screaming, she was crying, she was so desperate. She was broken..." Dad trailed off as his voice was hoarse and all choked up. He took a sip of his stone-cold tea and continued.  
>"I don't even know who that bastard was. Dressed in all black, with some stubble, greying hair, but that's all I could see. It was a split second. And if only I'd run further out, to get more details... anything... the license plate, the model of the car... the police are doing everything they can but... everyone here feels so fucking helpless, like it's our fault..."<p>

"Dad, it's not your fault," I interjected, not wanting anyone to feel any guilt that they shouldn't. "How the hell could you have stopped it? What I want to know is how the hell he got through the gate in the first place."

Donovan spoke up for the first time, though his voice was deep and low and had undertones of hurt emphasising every word he said. "She was next to the mailbox and the newspaper's still there on the sidewalk. My guess is that she got it to try and be a help for us. You know. So we wouldn't have to go out and get it."

A small smile played on my lips as I couldn't help but think that was such a typical thing for Charlotte to do. She was always helpful and considerate and thinking of ways to make life easier for everyone else. And for someone who hadn't yet hit her teenage years, she was an incredible person.

And for someone to take her away from us was disgusting. It was horrible. _Who could forcefully take a small girl away from her family like that?_

"Are you okay, Don?" I asked, wanting him to know that nothing had changed since we'd cleared the air and that I still really cared about his feelings too.

"Yeah. I mean, I have Josh, so..."

"Can I ask you something?" Kurt said suddenly, surprising both myself and Donovan with his abrupt manner of speaking and the harshness to his tone.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Who is this Josh we keep hearing about? Can you tell us more about him?"

Donovan shifted in his seat. "Why do you want to know? No offence, but it's like you're interrogating me."

"Because Blaine's ex-boyfriend's name is Josh. Josh Stevens. And he hurt Blaine in ways you could never imagine. It's not up for me to tell the story but we just need to know more about him. Because if it _is_ the same Josh then, as messed up as it sounds, it could have so much to do with Charlotte's abduction."

On the word abduction, Dad, Don and I both sat back as though something had stabbed us all in the chest. None of us wanted to see this as an act of violence or of hate. Despite not wanting to see it that way, I forced myself to actually look at the other side. I needed to get all the information necessary. I needed to get my sister back.

"Josh's last name isn't Stevens," Don said quietly, "but if you want to meet him, you can. He's actually just in my room on his computer. He knew you were coming and he didn't want to intrude. But uh, I can go get him if you want?"

"That'd be great," Kurt replied quickly, with that same tone in his voice as it had been before.

Donovan stood up and left to get Josh without a word, leaving Dad, Kurt and I alone in the room.

"Kurt, you didn't have to do that," I said, wanting to sound grateful yet wanting to pull him back at the same time.

"Blaine, you know what Josh Stevens is capable of, we just need to sort this out, okay? I'm doing it for your own good."

"Excuse me," Dad interrupted, just as I was opening my mouth, "but what the hell did this Josh guy do to you?"

I remained silent, avoiding Dad's gaze. Given the situation, I didn't think there was a need to bring more distress into the house.

"Blaine? Did he hurt you?"

I nodded.

"Emotionally?"

I nodded.

"Physically?"

I nodded again.

"Blaine, did he... god. Did he do... things... to you?" Dad asked, with a desperate, pleading voice.

I nodded. It was all I could do. Detail would be the worst thing to get into, but Dad was begging for more information.

"Tell me. What did he do?"

"Dad, not now, okay? Can we not? It was over a year ago, I'm over it, let's concentrate on Charlotte."

I failed to mention how Josh's reappearance and psychotic behaviour had broken me not too long before then.

"You need to tell me, Blaine."

"Why? Why do I need to tell you now when your daughter is missing?" I shouted, spitting out every word with all the rage and anger I could, releasing all the hate I had bottled up inside of me. My shouting was followed with moments of silence, as Dad sat back in his seat and chose to stare at his shoes again.

"I'm... god. I'm sorry, Dad. I shouldn't have shouted."

"It's okay, Blaine. We're not exactly in our right minds. We're not in a position to talk about... deep stuff. But... we'll have to talk about it at some stage, okay?"

"Yeah, I know."

We heard footsteps on the wooden floorboards leading down the hallway and into the living room. Donovan stepped inside, dragging someone in by the hand. Kurt and I both stood abruptly, hand-in-hand, united as one. Josh finally took a step into the room and there stood a tall, skinny black-haired guy with an eyebrow piercing and with a tattoo of a treble clef behind his ear.

"Hi, I'm Josh Parker," he introduced himself, stepping forward to offer a handshake.

I took his extended hand and shook it warmly, introducing myself. Because this really wasn't the Josh I knew.

It was a completely different guy.

_**Author's note down the bottom, mixing it up a little.**_

_**Firstly, thankyou for the reviews. I really appreciate them, as they keep me writing. Sorry for the slight delay in delivering this chapter: I'm a student, I have assignments, and apparently a klaine fanfic can't be submitted for an English short story task. **_

_**This chapter is dedicated to Ellen (matt-lewis on tumblr). She's an incredibly beautiful, wonderful person, and even though this isn't the happiest of chapters, Ellen, I still wanted to dedicate it to you to show you just how much I appreciate you, and just how amazing I think you are. Stuff that. How amazing I KNOW you are.**_

_**Did this chapter change your predictions? **_

_**Reviews keep me inspired. Sorry to sound like an attention-seeker, but it really does help knowing what you want to read and how you think the story is progressing.**_

_**Thank you for all of your support so far! **_


	33. Chapter 33

_**Long time since I last posted, I know. It's been... a hectic time for me. Let's put it that way.**_

_**I love you, though, for continuing to read and review not just this fic but my one shots too. You're lovely and wonderful.**_

_**I also changed my URL on tumblr. I'm now loserlikelittleoldme, so in case you're wondering where thelittleactor went... she's still here. That'll always be me.**_

_**I dedicate this to Ellen (matt-lewis on tumblr) for a number of reasons, of which are too large and personal to share. So I'm just going to say this: Ellen, you inspire me everyday to keep fighting and be the best I can be. You're a beautiful, amazing girl and I wish nothing but the utmost happiness for you. Always. I love you.**_

_**Short chapter is short. But I hope you like it. If you do, review. If you don't, review. That's the only way I can give you guys what you want.**_

_**Oh, and don't forget, when I hit 200 reviews I'm recording **_**KurtieBear CuddleTime **_**and posting it on youtube and tumblr and the like. So yeah. (:**_

_**Thankyou for your continued support.**_

If there was a time in every person's life in which they would feel completely lost, completely empty and immersed in darkness, this was it for me.

For days, I walked around the house like a zombie. My motions were so routine; they could have been graded for accuracy and precision. Every day, I completed the same mundane tasks with a certain lack of care that could only really come from deep hurt.

I was lost. I was floating. I wasn't me.

It had been almost two weeks since Charlotte had been reported missing, and I hadn't been back to school since. I couldn't face my teachers knowing that my sister had been taken. I couldn't plaster on a fake smile and convince my friends and peers that I was okay.

Because I wasn't. I was far from it.

Kurt had to go back to school though. Dalton had called, saying enough was enough. That made it so much harder: knowing that when I'd wake up in the morning from a nightmare-filled sleep, I wouldn't have the warmth and love of Kurt to soothe me back into reality.

But he was coming over every day after school, up until curfew. Seeing him everyday made the pain numb for at least a few minutes every day – I'd get swept up into a kiss, or I'd sink into his arms and feel his heartbeat pounding away, suddenly overwhelmed with this sense of _I'm not alone_.

It wouldn't last long. The minute Kurt's arms would fall from where they once held my waist so tightly, I'd feel a cold shiver run throughout my body, like this wave of nerves and dread.

I wanted Charlotte back.

But if I didn't get her back, I didn't know if I really wanted to know what happened to her.

Fear of the unknown is common, but for me, it was fear of the known that was killing me the most.

Xxxxxxx

"Blaine, baby, you've got to eat something."

"I've had something."

"You had one slice of toast."

"...and?"

"...and that was twelve hours ago. You need to eat something."

"I can't eat anything."

"You have to. It won't make the pain go away, but it'll stop you from losing yourself in the process of worry."

"I can't eat, Kurt."

"Why can't you eat?"

"We'd always eat in the kitchen."

"Who? Your family?"

"Charlotte and I. Every time I'd come home from Dalton. We'd make pancakes. She'd add chocolate chips to the mix. I'd lift her up so she could sit on the bench, and after every pancake was completely cooked, we'd eat it straight from the plate. One plate, two forks, a dozen pancakes."

"The minute Charlotte is back, you'll be back in there making pancakes, I'm sure."

"How can you actually be sure?"

"...I can't. But for now, let's concentrate on what's right in front of us. And you need to eat something."

"I can't eat anything, Kurt."

"Blaine, please, _for me_, just try to eat _something!"_

"Why does it matter to you so much?"

"...Because I'm your boyfriend, and I love you, and I can't bear to see you like this. So I'm going to do the best I can to be there for you, whether you like it or not. Now eat something."

"No."

"Blaine, please eat someth—"

"No."

"Blaine, _please!"_

"NO!"

Xxxxxx

Nothing could ease the pain, though the pain was now embedded so deep within me that although I knew it was there and I felt it, I still felt numb. I was unable to comprehend the smallest, most insignificant of words. I couldn't function properly.

My heart had a piece missing.

No one in the house was eating, thinking or sleeping properly. Dad resorted to doing the laundry while Mom resorted to fiddling with the car. It was complete role reversal – perhaps that was the most obvious sign of trauma.

Dylan and Katherine were quiet and reserved. Sometimes, I'd look over and see them steal a kiss with a small smile in the corner of their lips. Their eyes displayed all the same emotions we were feeling: confusion, anger, hurt, worry... Yet somehow, they managed to find some peace. I couldn't wrap my head around that concept, though. It was all way too surreal for me to take in.

Donovan and Josh stayed away most of the time. I didn't even know if Josh was staying over – that's how much they'd disappeared. I'd only ever see Donovan at the coffee machine each morning. He'd nod, I'd nod, he'd pour a cup of coffee for himself and ask if there was any news, and I'd say no. He'd disappear once more, only to return for a refill three hours later.

Kurt remained by my side whenever he wasn't in school. If he wasn't trying to get me to eat or trying to convince me to have a shower, he was there, sitting or standing next to me, interlocking our fingers and whispering "I'm always here" and "I love you".

I'd always found myself thinking, prior to the whole Charlotte situation, that Kurt was always timid and reserved when it came to affection. I'd thought that if we were to be affectionate, I'd have to initiate it, simply because Kurt wasn't as bold in his actions. But situations changed and time moved forward, and I was thankful for every single kiss on the cheek or long, sunken hug we'd share.

My heart _did _have a piece missing. But with time, the jagged edges smoothed out just that tiniest bit every day with Kurt by my side.

Or at least, that's what I'd thought.

Xxxxxx

"Blaine, baby, come to bed."

"Kurt, go back to Dalton. You have a curfew."

"It's the weekend and I'm not going anywhere. Come here."

"Kurt, I don't want you getting into trouble."

"I'm here for you, okay? I'm here to look after you. Always."

"Okay! I get it!"

"...I just..."

"Look, I know you're looking out for me because you're my _boyfriend _and _you love me_ and you just _wanna be there for me_, but I'm not a poor, broken sad child constantly requiring your attention and affection!"

"... ..."

"_Shit._ Kurt, I didn't mean—"

"It's okay."

"No, Kurt, it's not. I should never have –"

"You're hurt, Blaine. You're not thinking straight. You're not yourself. It's okay."

"I just meant that I—"

"You need space."

"No. Fuck no! Kurt! You're the best fucking thing that's ever happened to me! I need you now more than anything!"

"Blaine. You wouldn't have burst out saying all the things you did if there weren't some underlying meaning there."

"There wasn't! I mean, I just—"

"If you don't need space, then what is it?"

"... ..."

"Blaine?"

"...I'm lost, Kurt."

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

More days passed, nearing a month since the date Charlotte went missing. Kurt's birthday was now only two weeks away. I didn't know whether or not to feel happy about it. I didn't know how to feel.

But I was starting to find my feet again.

Dad had gone back to work, albeit part-time, in an attempt to gain some sense of normality. The rest of us tried our best but just couldn't find ourselves going back to our old lives: especially when our old lives revolved around Charlotte so much, even if we hadn't really noticed it when we had her there with us.

And there it was again, the need to apologise to Charlotte for taking her for granted and not truly appreciating her the way we should have, when she was here. When she was with us.

But we were there. We were going through the motions, completing the same everyday tasks that bored us yet gave us something to do, something to concentrate on. Sometimes I'd find myself just looking out the kitchen window as the rain droplets glistened through the sunlight. I'd stand there for ages, just looking, before realising that it was Charlotte's favourite pastime too.

Everything linked back to her. Everything reminded me of her. She was an image I couldn't erase from my mind no matter how hard I tried. Though, contradictory as it was, I found myself struggling to think back to the exact shape of her wind-swept, brunette curls and the precise position of her freckles on her nose.

I needed her back.

I wanted her back.

But I was starting to find my feet again.

David, Wes and Jeff had been sending assignments. They'd sent flowers for the first few weeks, before Kurt told them to stop after I began sobbing, noting that the lilies they'd sent were Charlotte's favourite.  
>I wasn't going to school, though. And when Kurt had to spend the nights back at Dalton, as per regulations, I'd find myself sleeping in the dull, lifeless spare bedroom to the rear of the house. My room was filled with too many laugh-filled memories with Charlotte, memories that I couldn't face without Kurt, my love.<p>

I didn't really realise that I was beginning to regain a sense of who I was until I found my phone, hidden underneath the fifty layers of crap lying on my bedroom floor, and logged onto facebook. I found a funny youtube video Jeff had sent me three months prior, and as I watched, I snickered, giggled and chortled until eventually I was laughing again. Actually laughing.

When Kurt saw me the next day and took my hand, giving me a kiss on the cheek and telling me he loves me, I was finally able to smile and say "I love you too," for the first time since Charlotte's disappearance.

But I was still lost.

I still missed her.

The hole in my heart was still there.

Xxxxxxxx

"Blaine?"

"Kurt?"

"Where are you?"

"Bathroom, drying my hair."

"I'm coming in."

"...What's going on?"

"Charlotte. She's been found."


	34. Chapter 34

"What?" I threw my towel on the floor as I heard Kurt utter those very words I'd been anxiously awaiting for a month.

"She's been found!"

"Fuck... thank god... is she okay?"

"As far as we know, yeah. Your Mom and Dad got the call from the police, and they're all headed to the hospital where Charlotte's gonna get checked up on, but there's no obvious injuries or anything."

"Oh thank god!" I exclaimed, thrusting my arms in the air and jumping into Kurt's arms in a celebratory hug.

"I know! I'm so happy for you and your family, Blaine! And for Charlotte!..."

I could feel Kurt breathing deeply before realising that he was actually crying. I pulled back and took his hands in mine.

"Baby, are you crying?"

"Yeah," Kurt said, looking embarrassed, "but only because I'm so happy. I'm so happy that Charlotte's back."

"Me too," I said softly, combing through Kurt's hair with my fingertips.

We stood like that for a few moments, wide smiles plastered on our faces, before Kurt spoke up once more.

"Your Dad said he'd call after they'd seen Charlotte. Didn't want to overwhelm her with the whole family there at once, he said."

"Makes sense. I'm just so happy that we have her back... I can't believe she was actually gone for a month, you know?"

"Trust me, I know..."

I chuckled nervously, squeezing Kurt's hands tightly. "Uhm... do they have any information about where she was? About who took her?"

"She's been silent since the police found her," Kurt said, starting at his feet. "Another reason why your parents wanted to see her first. They wanted to know if she was okay, but the police hadn't been able to get anything out of her other than her full name, to identify her."

Worry flickered in Kurt's eyes, just as I felt worry eat away at my heart. Knowing Charlotte was back was a major relief, but knowing that she could be hurt inside was just as harrowing as her disappearance. I tried to concentrate elsewhere, knowing that she was in the best hands.

"Do Donovan and Dyl and Katherine know?"

"...shit. I was supposed to tell them, your parents ran into me on their way out and they told me to tell you guys."

"Well, let's go tell them!"

Kurt and I half-ran through the house, knowing that Dylan and Katherine were over as they were making lunch for my parents, and that Donovan was probably in his room making out with _his _Josh (especially considering how OUT he'd been since he'd come out. Like. He was GAY. To the extreme. And if there's anything you don't want to know about your brother, it's the kind of things he does with his tongue. Josh talked a lot.)

As we were running, we ran into Dylan in the hallway.

"What's wrong?" he asked, taking in our breathlessness and our red faces.

"Charlotte's been found!" I burst, letting my excitement, happiness and relief overwhelm me as Dylan reacted just as I had, and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.

"Fuck! Yes!" I'd never really heard Dylan swear before, unless the situation was really extreme, so hearing that four-letter word was testament to how important Charlotte was to all of us.

Dylan dropped his death-grip on me before turning around and shouting down the hallway.

"KATHERINE! DONOVAN!"

"What?" Katherine and Dylan's heads popped out from their respective doorways, both looking confused and slightly worried.

"Charlotte's been found!" Dylan, Kurt and I shouted in unison, unable to curb our excitement.

Expressions of joy and happiness were evident on Donovan and Katherine's faces as they immediately ran to us from their rooms and joined in on a big, group hug.

"Thank god!" Katherine said, sighing with relief.

"I can't believe that we've actually got her back!" Donovan said, beaming, with his arms firmly wrapped around all of us so that there was no actual breathing room in this group hug we had going on.

We stood there, laughing and smiling and just basking in the positive atmosphere breaking down the sorrow of the Anderson household. Finally, we _had _to break the hug (I knew Kurt was getting a bit claustrophobic and slightly territorial over his perfectly-styled hair) and when I took a step back, I saw the state of Donovan's neck.

"Donovan Edward Anderson, is that a _hickey _on your neck?"

Donovan turned a bright shade of crimson as he avoided our gazes and shifted in his spot.

"That's not a freaking hickey," Dylan started, an evil smirk playing on his lips, "that's a freaking train of hickeys. Hickey-train, if you will. HickeyLink, now boarding on route to Slutsville."

Katherine slapped her husband's shoulders as we all laughed – Donovan even chuckled a bit, and it was good to see him taking part in a joke at his expense and not taking it to heart like he normally would.

"Things heating up with Josh, I'm guessing?" Dylan asked, a little more serious in his tone this time around.

"Well... yes and no..."

"Out with it, Don," I said, knowing that with the knowledge of what Kurt and I had been up to, nothing could really shock me that much.

"Uhm. Can we _not_? Like, I'm cool with you guys knowing about me being gay and all that, and I'm cool with you being really supportive but I _really _don't feel like having this conversation with my brothers and their respective partners."

"Oh come on, we're probably worse than you!" Kurt interjected, before shying away with his hand on his mouth as if he'd spoken without any intention to do so. The thought made me chuckle.

"...what have _you _been doing, Blaine?" Dyl asked, suspicion evident in his eyes.

"Katherine's pregnant, Dyl, so why don't _you _tell _me_ what _you've _been doing?" I retorted, slightly taken aback my quick wit but entertained nonetheless when everyone started cracking up and Katherine's face turned a bright shade of pink.

"I'm married, Blainers."

"It's not legal for me to get married, Dyl."

"Are you saying you would get married right now if you could?" Dylan asked incredulously.

"Of course," I said, not missing a beat as I replied with complete honesty and certainty, feeling Kurt's hand reach for mine and squeeze it as he heard what I'd said.

"Whoa. Deep," Donovan said, staring out our interlaced fingers as I quickly kissed Kurt on the forehead.

"That's actually pretty damn cute," Dylan said, smiling.

"Glad to hear it, bro."

"You two are perfect," Katherine said, her eyes glistening as they looked at us lovingly.

"Thanks," I said softly, before Kurt finished for me, saying, "I think so, too."

Dylan, in his childish ways, started making retching noises as I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket before _KurtieBear CuddleTime _started ringing out. I was desperate to answer my phone just to shut it off, before seeing that it was Mom ringing and answering immediately.

"Hi Mom, how is she?" I asked, looking at the others to try and indicate what was going on.

"Blaine, honey, she's alright. She's got a few bruises here and there, a couple of nasty ones, and then this one tiny burn mark on her arm. But apart from that, she's healthy."

"Well, thank goodness for that... But... a burn mark?"

"Yeah, it looked really round, so it could have been from a lit cigarette or something."

"The bastard..."

"Blaine..."

"Oh come _on, _Mom! We can't ignore that whoever it was did that to her, who's to say he didn't do anything else?"

"We don't know anything, Blaine. Charlotte won't talk to us."

"...she's not talking?" I started getting worried, knowing that if Charlotte's usual talkative nature wasn't even showing itself for Mom and Dad, then something was _definitely _wrong with her.

"She hasn't said anything except 'I love you Mom and Dad' when we walked in. She leapt out of bed and held on to us, but she hasn't said a single word after that."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. But she's been writing."

"Yeah?"

"She wrote that she wanted to see and talk to you, Blaine."

I felt a pang in my heart knowing that Charlotte was reaching out to connect with me. After such a frightening experience, it was expected that she would be feeling out-of-touch with her regular self and her usual forms of communication. But having Charlotte single me out was special, and reminded me of just how close we were, despite our obvious age difference.

"...should I come over?"

"No, she's about to be discharged, and we'll be bringing her home within the hour."

"What can I do to help get her settled?"

"I'm thinking a nice, homey family meal will help bring her some warmth and comfort. Can you make sure her bedroom is ready for her?"

"Sure. Of course. And I might go get some of her favourite ice-cream from her favourite ice-creamery."

"That sounds lovely, Blaine. She's lucky to have you and quite frankly, I'm so thankful for you too."

"It's nothing, Mom, I just wish I'd been there for her through it all."

"We all do, honey."

I heard some murmurs and whispers through the phone line.

"Blaine, I'm gonna have to go now, your sister's just been discharged. We'll be home in about forty-five minutes."

"Okay. I love you. And tell her I love her, too."

"I love you too. And I will. See you soon."

With a click, Mom had hung up and I found myself giving everyone a quick run-down of the situation. They were just as bewildered by her silence as I was.

"If anyone will get her talking, Blaine, it'll be you," Dylan said, patting me on the shoulder.

"That's what Mom said."

"It's true," Donovan piped up. "Charlotte's always loved you the most."

"Oh, guys, she loves you..."

"Yeah, but not in the same way. You're close. You've formed this secret bond, this friendship thing – and quite frankly, you two are dangerous around each other."

I laughed, "No we're not!"

"I do remember, the first time Dylan brought me home to meet you all, there being a bucket of flour and a bucket of water teetering on the edge of the top of the door as I walked through," Katherine said.

"Yeah. Should've known it wasn't going to work, and that Dylan would have pointed out our booby trap before you guys copped it."

"After growing up with YOU and then knowing that you influenced our dear, innocent little sister? I knew not to trust you," Dylan said, laughing as we reminisced over good times.

"Well, you can trust me now, but we better get working on getting our 'Welcome Home' hats on and making this house presentable."

"I'm sorry," Donovan chuckled, "'Welcome Home' hats?"

I could feel my face getting warm and reddening, realising how lame I must have sounded.

"I... you... shut up!"

Everyone laughed again before eventually planning our jobs and how we were going to get everything ready for Charlotte. It only took a few seconds for everyone to get going, rushing to get their jobs done and have the house perfect for Charlotte's arrival.

As I promised Mom, I went out to buy Charlotte's favourite ice-cream. I knew it wasn't going to automatically make things better, but I hoped it might bring a sense of comfort and familiarity to my broken sister.

Kurt didn't leave my side as we worked through our jobs, just smiling at me occasionally and whispering 'I love you' and 'I'm proud of you' and 'You're amazing' in my ear randomly. He was giving me that small amount of comfort and in some ways, was reassuring me that everything is okay. As happy as I was, there's no denying that I was indeed worried about Charlotte, but having Kurt there was just what I needed to focus on the task at hand.

We'd all finished our jobs a lot sooner than we'd expected – perhaps the anticipation of having Charlotte home was too much for us, urging us to work faster without us realising it. Charlotte was undeniably one of the most important figures in all of our lives, so it wasn't entirely unusual to be sitting in the living room on the edge of our seats, silent and waiting for the hum of an engine to sound in the garage as Mom and Dad brought Charlotte home.

Eventually, we heard the unmistakable sounds of the car driving in, and we all leapt to our feet. We didn't race to the door – we'd already agreed not to pounce on Charlotte, so that we could make the transition as easy as possible – instead, we stood there, linked to our respective partners, plastering welcoming smiles on our faces and waiting for them to enter.

The sound of keys jingling and high-heels tapping against concrete grew closer. The door unlocked with a jolt, opened wide and there stood Dad with his arm wrapped around Mom and Charlotte, clinging to Mom desperately as if she feared she'd be taken away again.

"Welcome back, honeybee," I said softly and warmly, kneeling down and spreading my arms open wide as she ran towards me. I swept her up into a hug and felt her heavy breathing and her tears seeping through my shirt.

"Blaine," she mumbled, face deeply buried into my neck, "I love you."

"I love you too, sweetie. I've missed you so much."

"I needed you," she sobbed, clinging to me even tighter, desperation clearly evident through her voice and her tight hold. "I needed you, Blaine. I screamed out for you... and you weren't there... and I was hurting and I was alone and you weren't there..."

"I know, honeybee, I know," I said, pressing a kiss to her forehead and trying not to let my own tears fall anywhere near her or have her hear the sadness in my voice as I started crying too. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there. I love you, okay? I love you _so much_. And I'll never let you go like that again."

Charlotte just nodded into my chest, refusing to relinquish her hold on me.

Dylan and Katherine stepped forward, wanting to welcome Charlotte back too.

"Char?" Dylan moved forward slowly, before waiting for Charlotte to turn her head slightly to look at him before continuing. "We missed you so much. Can we say hello?"

Charlotte just nodded, refusing to say anything. She slid down, feet flat on the floor, and moved forward to hug Dylan and Katherine at the same time, all the while holding my hand and refusing to let go. Donovan stepped forward as Dylan and Katherine stepped back, offering his arms in a hug also. Josh stayed back, understanding this was a family moment. I made a mental note of his gesture before turning my attention back on Charlotte, who had now come back to me and attached herself to my side.

"Charlotte?" Kurt asked softly, calm and warmth evident in his tone, "I'd just like to say... I may not be your brother, but I really missed you too. And I'm glad you're back."

Charlotte let me go immediately, stepping towards Kurt and embracing him in a hug so tight, it almost resembled the one she'd choked me with when she'd entered the room. Though it may have been a bit shorter, it still displayed great feeling nonetheless and I saw Kurt's confusion come through a bit in his delayed reaction. It took a few seconds for him to register that Charlotte had come to him and embraced him more so than she did her other siblings. He soon regained composure and went back to his calm, collected self, but he gave me a quick look containing a million questions. I looked at him, hoping that he could see in my eyes that we'd talk about it later. He nodded, and I turned my attention back onto Charlotte once more.

Charlotte leant up and whispered in Kurt's ear, "Thank you," before creeping back over to me.

She spent the rest of the night attached to me, only ever speaking through me. She ate her meal in silence, though I saw a small smile when I told her that I'd bought her favourite Ice-Cream for dessert. She was _so _quiet, so out of character, that I felt myself hurt inside at just how hurt _she_ must have been to be feeling that way.

Her broken personality was painfully evident when Mom suggested she go to bed. Within seconds, Charlotte's arms had wrapped around my neck and her face had become buried in my chest. It took me hardly any time at all to realise that she was crying again.

"What's wrong, honeybee?" I asked, treading carefully.

"I... can't... bed..."

"Char?"

"...will you sleep in my room tonight, Blaine?"

My heart sunk at those words. She was broken so much so that she needed me to sleep in her room? Did she feel like she needed protection? Or did the concept of bed have some negative connotations attached since her disappearance?

I had to erase those thoughts from my mind and concentrate on Charlotte.

"Of course I will, sweetie. Anything you want, I'm here."

"Thank you," she sniffed, before turning her head slightly to face Kurt.

"Can you come too? Please?"

Kurt just smiled. "Of course. I'd be honoured."

"I don't want Blaine to cry when I cry," she said slowly and softly, "so you can be there for Blaine and Blaine can be there for me."

"I'll be there for you, too, Charlotte," Kurt said, reaching out to hold Charlotte's hand.

"Thank you."

"Charlotte? Would you like a hot chocolate before bed?" Mom asked warmly.

Charlotte just shook her head and refused to look at Mom, Dad or anyone besides Kurt and I. I was nonplussed – what could cause her to react that way? Sure, Charlotte and I had a closer relationship. But she's always been so friendly and so loving with our parents and siblings. She had many private jokes with Dyl, she often had staring contests with Donovan and she loved her 'girl talk' with her sister-in-law, Katherine.

Charlotte's silence was disturbing, to say the least. Her reaction to the concept of 'bed' was concerning, and her overall disposition had us all very frightened.

Kurt and I tucked her into bed and waited for her to drift off before sleeping ourselves, on her bedroom floor with the Disney Princess nightlight on. Watching Charlotte sleep fitfully with tearstains on her cheeks broke our hearts, and we knew we had to get some answers, if not for our sake, then for the emotional well-being of my poor, broken honeybee.

_**This is the second longest chapter of 'Seven'.**_

_**Charlotte's back, and I think many of you will be relieved. But there's so much more to her story. And to how it will effect Kurt and Blaine as a couple. **_

_**In the next chapter, you'll be getting Charlotte's story and some other events... prepare for the worst is all I'm going to say.**_

_**Thank you for your continued support. I always appreciate your reviews and your honesty.**_

_**I personally think this chapter isn't exactly my best, but I hope it reads okay for you. I tried to keep it true to the characters as much as possible. **_

_**I hope you like the chapter, even though it is rather depressing.**_

_**If you have any questions about Seven, you can always review or alternatively, you can ask me via my ask box on tumblr – /ask. **_

_**Spoiler for next chapter:**_

"_**Charlotte, honeybee... these bruises... how'd you get them?"**_

"_**...he told me not to scream for help, because only he could hear me..."**_


	35. Chapter 35

"How do you think she is?" Kurt whispered, laying close beside me on the air mattress on the floor of Charlotte's room during her first night at home.

"I don't know," I whispered back, carefully glancing over to Charlotte as I responded to make sure that she wasn't disturbed.

"How long do you think it'll be before we get her back?"

"It depends on just how much she's been through in the past month."

Kurt shuffled closer underneath the sheets to link his fingers through mine and squeeze my hand.

"At least she's here with us," he said softly.

We laid there for ages, not wanting to sleep in case Charlotte was to wake up or have nightmares – we really weren't sure as to how damaged or fragile she may be, so we weren't taking any chances.

Our fears were realised when we heard her sheets moving rapidly. We looked over to see her kicking her legs forcefully, and throwing her arms about as if she was trying to fight someone off. She then woke up, startled, with tears streaming down her face. She sat up in her place and just cried as Kurt and I leapt up from the air mattress beside her bed and wrapped our arms around her in comfort.

"Shhh, honeybee, it's okay. I'm here, Kurt's here, you're safe," I said as soothingly as I could, rubbing her back in circles in and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"No, no, no, no, no," she kept repeating, holding her knees to her chest and staring distantly at the wall in front of her.

"Tell us what happened, Char," I prodded, hoping that maybe a snippet of her nightmare could give us an indication of not only how to proceed, but of how bad the situation really was.

"No," she said, in a voice so tiny and quiet that if you'd taken a breath at the wrong moment, you wouldn't have been able to hear it.

"We're here, Char," Kurt chimed in, brushing Charlotte's tear-sodden hair from her cheeks.

She just nodded, sniffed and held onto her legs, rocking herself back and forth in our arms. Her eyes were still misty, concentrating on the wallpaper on the far side of the room rather than on us. She was hurting, and we knew it, though we didn't know how to help or how to get some answers from Charlotte at all.

"You can tell us anything," I said soothingly, looking to Kurt in the hope that he may be able to help me proceed. Instead, he turned to Charlotte to talk to her too.

"I can always leave the room if you'd like, so you can talk to Blaine on your own?" he suggested, as friendly and as comfortingly as he could as he moved to leave the room.

"No, don't leave me," Charlotte whispered immediately. "You make Blaine happy. I like it when Blaine's happy. And you're nice. So stay with me, because I like you too."

Kurt brushed a stray curl from Charlotte's forehead once more and whispered an 'okay' before sitting back in his original position.

"Do you want to talk?" I asked, not wanting to pressure her therefore trying to ignore my own personal feelings on the matter in order to do what was best for her.

"...I don't know. I'm so tired, I haven't slept in ages."

"You haven't slept?"

Charlotte shook her head briefly. "Not properly, no. Naps only. Twenty minutes at a time."

"Oh, honey. That's not enough. How'd that happen?"

"If we wanted to sleep more than twenty minutes, we had to sleep in the cardboard box in the shed with all the rats and things."

Kurt couldn't help his little gasp of horror as it escaped from his lips – it was small and minute, yet audible.

"It wasn't that bad," Charlotte changed her tone completely. "It was what we deserved for being so appalling."

I was bewildered by Charlotte's sudden change in outlook. Her tone had moved to an almost robotic, automatic response. It was as if those very words had been drilled into her every second of the day until they were flowing out of her also.

"You're not appalling, Char," I said.

"Apparently, with the family I come from, I am _very _appalling."

"How so?" Kurt asked.

"I have two gay brothers," she replied simply. I could feel fury rising in my chest and I knew I had to keep my cool for Charlotte, but it was only with a few looks from Kurt and a tense of my muscles that I was able to sit back and think somewhat rationally.

"Who told you that?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"They did."

"Who's they?"

"Blaine, don't push her."

"I need to know."

"_Blaine_, stop. Now."

I looked at Kurt and saw the pleading look in his eyes. It was enough to melt my heart and make the anger inside me die down just enough to think clearly.

"I'm sorry, Char, I didn't mean to bombard you with those questions."

"It's okay, B."

I pressed another kiss to her forehead, and noticed how she lent into my touch as if it were a serious source of comfort. I decided to test this, and pulled her in closer so that I was enveloping her into a full bear hug. She responded enthusiastically, hugging me just as tightly as I was hugging her. In my peripheral vision, I saw her hand linked with Kurt's. That sight, too, made my heart melt, though I still had to take control of myself in front of Charlotte. I released her from my tight grip and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Do you want to sleep now, honeybee?"

"Yeah, I really do, but I don't know if I can. It's too quiet here. It's eerie."

I smiled at her use of the word 'eerie', remembering the day she decided to pick up a dictionary and choose five words at random to learn. 'Eerie' was word number three.

"Well, what if Kurt and I sang to you?" I thought out loud, knowing that Kurt would be willing and also realising that if anything, Charlotte's love of music would be a good way to settle her back into her normal, _safe_ home life.

Charlotte looked at the both of us, back and forth, before smiling widely – the first honest smile we'd seen her smile since we'd had her back.

"Please do," she said. "But nothing too sappy, save that for your wedding."

We tucked her back into bed again, and Kurt crept into the kitchen to make her a quick hot chocolate to drink while we sang a few quiet songs (from our Michael Buble and Jack Johnson collections) and helped her fall asleep. We then took turns keeping an eye on her until we both fell asleep, back on the air mattress beside her bed.

Kurt and I were exhausted, there was no doubt about that. But it was a good kind of exhausted. Though we hadn't accomplished much, the sense of accomplishment was still there. It felt good to have Charlotte back in our lives and hearts, no matter how damaged she was. And in seeing how good Kurt was with Charlotte, and how taken she was by him, I knew that I had to get planning for Kurt's birthday. Something big and extravagant was in order. _I just may need Charlotte's help for this one, _I thought.

_**Short chapter, I know. Here's my excuse. I turned 16 today (29**__**th**__** of August, same as Lea Michele's birthday. Go me!) and I've been a bit busy. **_

_**Lame excuse, I know. But hey, when a girl's gotta party (or eat tons of chocolate) that's what she's gonna do!**_

_**This is so short, but I feel like it should be, as it is a short little 'scene' if you will, and adding more scenes to this chapter just felt wrong.**_

_**Please review, let me know what you think. And I love hearing your theories too! What do you think happened to Charlotte?**_

_**WINNER gets a prize! Not even kidding! If you can guess what's happened to Charlotte, or what she's been through, and mention it in a review, you will be rewarded. You need to be contactable (either by fanfiction or tumblr is fine – my URL is loserlikelittleoldme(dot)tumblr etc.) though, so you can get your prize.**_

_**Happy guessing!**_


	36. Chapter 36

Charlotte slept fitfully that night, waking up several times in a fit of shivers or with beads of sweat glistening on her pale, scared face. Kurt and I continued to wake when she did, and we did our best to soothe her back to sleep. We sang a fair bit – Charlotte liked our harmonies to _Baby, It's Cold Outside _best – but it wasn't too long before the 9:00am alarm we'd set had gone off.

Kurt and I were exhausted. It couldn't be helped, and it was all for looking after Charlotte, which neither of us had a problem with. But it was still taxing to our bodies to have never really achieved a state of proper REM sleep.

As Charlotte was slowly waking and Kurt was doing the same, I took the opportunity to beat everyone to the kitchen. I made coffee for Kurt and I and a hot chocolate for Charlotte before bringing them back into Charlotte's bedroom, only to find her and Kurt harmonising to a song I'd never heard before.

"Hot drinks! I've got some – Whoa, what are you two singing?" I asked, puzzled and entertained.

Kurt and Charlotte stopped harmonising and began laughing. "Oh, just _Fragile_," Kurt responded.

"_Fragile. _Who's it by?"

"Kylie Minogue," Charlotte answered quickly, with a broad smile showing on her face in contrast to the deep circles tainting her beautiful face.

"Kylie Minogue, eh? Going for the Aussies?"

"Australians can make some good music, I must admit," Kurt said, before standing to accept his coffee from me and press a kiss to my cheek.

"Well, as long as you don't bring up Keith Urban, I think I can agree with you on that one."

Charlotte gasped in shock. "Blaine! Don't be mean! He's got good music!"

I frowned at her. "Not as good as your dear brother, I hope."

"You're right," she grinned. "Dyl makes some exceptional music!"

I was taken aback by her sharp, eager response, and laughed and smiled with her as she did the same. It was good to see her actually enjoying herself, though the purpling patches underneath her eyes still kept her ordeal in my mind. I knew that she wasn't going to get better overnight, but with the way she interacted, I felt a sense of hope emerging. Maybe all wasn't as lost as I'd originally thought.

After consuming the entirety of our hot drinks and singing a few other Australian songs – it'd turned into an ACDC/Men at Work/Katie Noonan medley somehow, despite the massive leaps in genres – Kurt, Charlotte and I trudged into the kitchen to face breakfast. Upon reaching the kitchen counter, I found a note from Mom resting underneath a block of chocolate.

_Blaine, Kurt and my beautiful Charlotte,_

_Dad and I have gone out for a couple of hours, we'll tell you why later. Don and Josh have gone out for a movie, and Dyl and Katherine told us to tell you they're getting a sonogram done. Everyone should be home around 3:30ish, but don't count on it, especially if the boys are driving. _

That's when I saw a hasty addition to the note in purple pen, scribbled by Dylan:

_Don't listen to Mom, I'm a freaking fantastic driver._

I laughed, and then continued on with the rest of Mom's note.

_I trust that you, Blaine, and you, Kurt, can feed Charlotte and keep her happy and all that jazz. Let us know via text if you plan on going anywhere and please don't leave the house unless you're all together._

_Also, Blaine, Jeff sent a package and a note. He said to tell you that his 'special song written for you' is now available on the Dalton Academy website for everyone from the school to download. Apparently their families can access it to, so Dad and I thought we'd take a look when we get home._

_He also told me to tell you and Kurt to be safe. I left the package on your pillow, Blaine. I may have opened it to make sure it wasn't maggots or something, because I know what Jeff's like._

_Love you all,_

_Mom. Xx_

_PS: This chocolate is for Charlotte Anderson only. ONLY._

_PPS: But if you can, save a piece for me._

I smiled down at the note, before re-reading the ending and realising just what Mom had said. Jeff had sent over a package? We had to be safe? What?

I asked Kurt to start making some French toast (that was his specialty, after all) and headed towards my room. I opened my door and looked at the suspicious bubble-wrapped package sitting on my pillow.

I picked it up and slid my finger underneath the tape, unwrapping the package cautiously and carefully. Upon releasing the first layer, the entire contents of the package slipped out and fell onto my bed.

And there, on my bed, lay a bottle of lube, a packet of condoms, pamphlets on safe sex and a fluffy, honey-toned teddybear.

While the teddy was cute, I couldn't help but cringe and shake my head at what Jeff had done. _My mother has seen this, _I kept thinking. _My mother, my mother, my mother, my mother, oh dear GOD._

"Blaine?" Kurt knocked at the open door behind me.

"Yeah?"

"Are you o-? Uhm. What is _that_?" Kurt said, pointing at the pile of items on my bed.

"That is the lovely package our dear friend Jeff sent us."

Kurt looked somewhat unsurprised. "Ah."

"My _mother _has _opened _this _package!_"

I heard a guffaw, a sudden gasp for air and then uncontrollable laughter. I looked over at Kurt, who was now leaning over and holding onto the end of my bed for support to remain standing.

"Why are you laughing? This isn't funny! MY MOTHER HAS SEEN THIS!"

"That's why it's funny!" Kurt laughed even harder, noting my reaction.

"How?"

Kurt calmed down slightly, still chuckling every now and then. "Because. She's not bothered by it. She actually put it on your bed and made a note of passing along Jeff's message. She must be finding this entire situation _hilarious _right now!"

"BUT THIS MY MOM!"

"What about Mom?" I heard Charlotte's voice from the door and turned to see her there in my giant, over-sized Dalton sweatshirts and Winnie the Pooh pyjama pants.

Kurt snorted once more and clapped a hand to his mouth to stop himself from embarrassing us any further.

"Uh, just... Jeff sent us an inappropriate gift and Mom saw it. Something she shouldn't have seen."

"Condoms?" Charlotte guessed.

"Charlotte! What-? Why'd you-? How did you-? What?"

She shrugged, "You two are weirdly close. Closer than you were before I disappeared. You're doing it, aren't you?"

"That's not exactly something I should talk about with you, Char," I said, confused by her knowledge of such a topic and wanting to prevent her from getting any kinds of ideas in her head.

"Party pooper," she said, before turning to leave. "Kurt, you might wanna get a leash for him or something. Take control. Don't let him dominate."

She sauntered out of the room, leaving Kurt and I standing in the same positions, mystified.

"Well that was..."

"Wildly inappropriate for my nine-year-old sister to say?" I finished Kurt's sentence.

"Yeah. Kinda."

"She never said anything to that effect before. At all."

"Nothing?"

"Nope. Nothing."

"What's going on with her?"

"I don't know, but I guess we should be thankful that she's at least talking to us now."

"True..." Kurt stepped over and wrapped his arms around my waist before leaning down slightly to kiss me.

"Why don't we just go watch movies with her or something? Get her comfortable back in her home environment?" he asked, holding onto my waist as tight as possible.

"Sounds good," I said, before leaning in to kiss Kurt once more. As I was doing so, I heard a forced cough from the door.

Charlotte was standing there again. "Can you two stop being so adorable and just get married already? Gosh!"

I smiled. _This _was the Charlotte I knew. "Not that easy, Char."

"Oh shut up, grow up and get to New York, won't you?" she said forcefully. "I want to be a freaking bridesmaid."

"You'll be the most beautiful bridesmaid anyone's ever seen," Kurt chimed in, smiling like he'd slept with a coat hanger separating his cheeks.

"Yup. Now come watch movies." Charlotte reached forward and grabbed our hands, dragging us to the main lounge room where we watched _Friends _and _Confessions of A Shopaholic_. Charlotte began to fall asleep on the couch, and Kurt started drifting off with his head in my lap. He looked so beautiful, just lying there and sleeping peacefully. I found myself reaching for the remote, reducing the volume of the TV, and lightly brushing Kurt's hair from his face.

I pressed a light kiss to his forehead and smiled: I couldn't believe I was so lucky to have Kurt. He'd truly been there for the entire family when he should have been at school. He'd done anything he could to ensure that we were okay, putting himself last. Everyone at McKinley labelled him a diva, he said, and he'd reinforced that value in me many times. But it was his selflessness and true love for the people around him that kept my mantra repeating itself in my mind: _I love him, I love him, I love him, I love him..._

I heard the jingle of keys and the sound of the door unlocking as Mom and Dad arrived home. The minute I saw them, I pressed a finger to my lips to urge them to be quiet.

"Exhausted them, did you?" Mom whispered with a twinkle in her eye.

"Possibly," I whispered back.

"You look deathly, son," Dad whispered. "You should get some sleep."

"Believe me, I've tried, but someone should always be there for Charlotte in case she wakes up in a fit again."

"Again?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, she had nightmares all night last night. Kurt and I had to sing and laugh and talk with her to get her back to sleep. I don't think she slept much, though, that's why she's sleeping now."

"And Kurt?"

"Same thing. He's been up just as much as I have."

Mom reached forward and took my cheek in her hand. I leaned into her touch: her familiar, motherly perfume overcame me and I as I smelt freesias I was instantly relaxed.

"You've got a special one there, B," she whispered, smiling faintly.

"Oh, I know..."

Xxxxx

I didn't realise that I'd fallen asleep too until I felt my phone vibrate violently in my pocket. I looked down at the number, but my eyes were still too unfocused to see properly. I answered.

"Hello?"

"Blaine, it's Josh, don't hang up."

"Don's Josh? Hey man..."

"What? No? Your brother? No! Look, just don't hang up!"

It finally dawned on me who it was. As sleepy as I was, I managed to shake some ferocity into my tone.

"What do you want? Why should I listen to you?"

Josh's tone was mournful and apologetic. "It's about what happened to Charlotte."

"YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO CHARLOTTE?" I bellowed into the phone, effectively waking both Kurt and Charlotte and alarming Mom and Dad as they rushed into the room to see what was going on. Kurt sat up and looked at me worriedly, brushing the sleep from his eyes.

"Yeah. And please believe me when I say I'm so, _so _sorry about this."

"What happened, Josh?"

"Just please, promise me you won't hang up-"

"Tell me what the fuck happened, _Josh_."

"Fine. Okay. So my Dad told me he was going away for a week. That's cool. Whatever. I'm staying at home for a month while I look for a new apartment and –"

"Get on with it!"

"Alright, alright! Dad was gone, I had the place to myself, I heard some noises downstairs. Sounds of men drinking and whatever. Thought it might've been a TV or something. Went downstairs, peered through the crack in the door, and ... shit. Blaine. Fuck, I'm so sorry."

"What? WHAT?"

"Your sister and two other girls were unconscious, lying on the pool table... the men, I guess they're Dad's friends, were stabbing their cigarette butts into their arms and betting on which one would—"

Josh started choking up, and I heard real tears and emotion in his voice.

"Would what, Josh?"

"...which one would scream the most..."

"Fuck..."

"I'm so sorry, Blaine."

"Fuck! Did you do something?"

"What do you think? Of course I did something! I ran upstairs and called the police! They came, arrested Dad and the other men and that's how they found Charlotte."

"How come the police didn't tell us any of this?"

"I wanted to tell you so that _I _could apologise. I feel so bad for not... for not knowing or anything."

"...I need to go."

"Blaine, shit, please just know this isn't my fault!"

I thought about that statement for a moment, remembering the words Josh had said the last time I saw him. He spoke of how he didn't want to be his father. He said that his father was a bad man.

He was right. And I was ready to kill his father with every ounce of strength in my body for what he did to Charlotte.

"I know it's not. Just... I'm gonna go. I'm gonna calm down. Okay?"

"Can I-... Can I call you later?"

"Sure. Whatever."

"Blaine, how's Charlotte?"

"She's not great."

With that, I hung up, unable to speak or think coherently. I sat there in rage, clenching my fists and almost shaking in anger.

"Blaine?" Mom spoke up.

"What did the police tell you?"

Mom looked down. "Everything."

"And you didn't think to share that with us? I had to fucking find out through my ex-boyfriend that his psychopath father terrorised my little sister! Not only that, but this is an ex that abused me throughout the relationship and tormented me for ages afterwards! You didn't think to tell me?"

"Language, Blaine," Dad warned.

"No! I think I have a right to be fucking pissed off right now!" I started tearing up, and I felt my throat begin to choke as the tears started streaming at a rapid pace. "You _know _how important Charlotte is to me! You know! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Charlotte only came back to us yesterday, B," Mom walked towards me to hold my hand, "and she's been attached to you since. We didn't want to upset her by walking through it all again."

As angry as I was, that actually made sense. I took a few deep breaths, felt Kurt's reassuring arm wrap itself around my waist, and calmed down.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled or cursed at you like that. I apologise."

"To be honest, son, I'm surprised you didn't do a whole lot more," Dad said.

"Me too," I agreed. "Me too."

_**Jocy33 won the little contest! She had the closest guess, and as her reward, she gets to read the next three chapters before everyone else and critique them before they are uploaded here! Jocy33, you are, for all intents and purposes, a BETA for the next three chapters. ENJOY!**_

_**Also, Charlotte's story doesn't end there. The homophobia that many of you assumed happened will indeed come about, but not in the way you might think. **_

_**Thank you for all of your reviews.**_

_**I also noticed that as of now, I'm only 19 away from uploading KurtieBear CuddleTime to youtube. WHY DID I SAY I'D DO THAT? Now I should get cracking on that.**_

_**And thankyou for your birthday wishes. Yes. I **_**am **_**sixteen. Going for my Learner's licence soon (QLD licence rules are weird) so wish me luck for my written test!**_

_**As always, review if you love/hate/are in different to anything. I can only improve from your comments! **_


	37. Chapter 37

It took several hours for me to truly calm down. Charlotte and Kurt each took it upon themselves to help bring me back down to Earth – Kurt pressed soft kisses to my temple and played with my hair whilst Charlotte just wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tight.

Mom, Dad and my other siblings left us to it. Charlotte was fine around Kurt and I, they said, so they didn't see any harm in doing so. The rest of the day didn't really have any purpose at all – we just sat and talked quietly about insignificant things, not one of us wanting to begin yet another conversation based on a situation so horrible it was unfathomable.

Kurt and I, once again, slept in Charlotte's room that night. She drifted off a lot quicker than expected, and though we'd hear sheets rustling as she kicked them around and shifted in her bed, she never once woke, sweaty and bothered, like she had the previous nights. We didn't sleep ourselves, instead choosing to take the rare opportunity for a moment alone to talk.

"Blaine?" Kurt whispered, rolling over on our air mattress to face me, resting his head in his hand.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Kurt's tone implied a lot more than the generic "are you okay" you'd hear from almost anybody. He almost sounded as if he were hurting too. I turned to face him, resting my head in the crook of my elbow and reaching out with my other arm to pull Kurt in by the waist reassuringly.

"I'm not great, I suppose," I said, trying to be as honest as possible. "I think it's all just so surreal, but so horrific at the same time."

"I feel the same."

"Yeah?"

"Of course," Kurt reached forward with his free hand and clutched to my waist as I had done to him not a minute before. "Charlotte's like my sister too, now."

I smiled. "I'm sure she'd love to hear that."

"I'd be happy to say it anytime."

The room fell silent again, but it wasn't an awkward, prolonged pause. It was thoughtful, as if Kurt and I were reeling through a thousand different thoughts simultaneously. It was peaceful and quiet until I just had to say something aloud.

"I wish I could get my hand on Josh's dad," I blurted, still quiet enough so as not to disturb Charlotte but loud enough for Kurt to understand how I felt.

"Don't we all?" Kurt responded, pulling me in by the waist once more.

"But I just… how would he even know about Charlotte? Or Dyl or Don for that matter? How would he know?"

"Well, wouldn't he know something from your relationship with Josh?" Kurt suggested thoughtfully, but in a way that was far from accusatory.

"No," I shook my head immediately. "The finer details, like family and hell, even personality weren't shared in that relationship, if you can even call it that."

"But still, he could have done research or something."

"I don't know. His son's a dickhead, so I suppose Josh had to get it from somewhere."

Kurt snorted, "Too right."

"I just… eugh. You know when Josh kept calling and basically stalking me? Not too long ago?"

"And then he turned up at Dalton and you went five thousand shades of green and puce? Yeah. I do."

"All of these emotions just kept boiling to the surface. It was like… I could barely control it myself, you know? But I just couldn't vocalise it all."

"Josh did a lot of pretty horrible things…" Kurt trailed off, pressing a kiss to my cheek and brushing a stray curl from my forehead in a comforting manner.

"The last time we saw him… his explanation didn't even make sense! He was stalking me and hurting me because he wanted to get close to me to _apologise_?"

"Hmmm…"

"All because his dad died and he didn't want to be like him. What a pile of bullshit."

There was a moment of silence before Kurt shot up, sitting up on the mattress with his hand clasped to his mouth.

"What, baby?" I asked, concerned.

"You just said… shit. You said it. Josh told us his dad died when he came to Dalton."

"Right…" I was missing the connection, and felt really stupid given how pale Kurt looked.

"…and Josh called you today and told you what?"

"That he saw his Dad in the- shit!" I sat up faster than Kurt, stripped the sheets off and stood, pacing the room.

"Yes! See?"

"So he lied?"

"There's two things he could have lied about, and for his sake, I sincerely hope it's the first."

"Knowing him, it's fucking everything!" I said in my normal speaking voice.

"Shh!" Kurt warned, pressing a finger to his lips, "You'll wake her!"

"Come out here, then!" I whispered, gesturing to the hall. Kurt leapt out of bed, took one look at Charlotte to make sure she was still sleeping, and followed me out into the hall. We closed her door softly, before choosing to stand just outside her room in case she woke and needed us.

"I can't fucking believe it," I said, wiping my face with my hands.

"Shh, honey, it's okay," Kurt said, reaching forward to take my face in his hands and look straight into my eyes. "It'll all work out. We'll find Josh and get him put away. It's okay."

"But what he did to Charlotte-" I stopped, unable to find the proper words as I began to lose myself for a moment and cry.

"I know," Kurt wrapped his arms around me and squeezed tight.

"It doesn't even make sense! He told her that being gay was wrong? What the fuck is he? He's gay!"

Kurt stood there, holding me close and listening to me vent and curse until I'd finally had enough. I was just there, crying into the shirt of my boyfriend as he consoled me. It took me a minute to realise what I was doing and regain some composure.

I took a step back and took Kurt's hands in mine.

"I'm sorry," I apologised, "I've been a real mess lately and this hasn't been fair on you at all."

"Oh, shut up," Kurt scoffed. "Like you wouldn't do it for me?"

"…Still. This hasn't been easy on any of us, and you just kinda took it upon yourself to- to help out, in any way, shape or form and that's just been above and behind the call of duty."

Kurt pressed a quick kiss to my lips before staring me down.

"Blaine Anderson. You are my boyfriend and I love you. I love you more than anything or anyone in this world."

"You can't say you love me more than Burt," I teased, wiping a tear from my cheek before intertwining my fingers with Kurt's once more.

Kurt pondered for a second. "No. But I love you both in very different ways, so as much as I love him as a father, I love you as a boyfriend and as my other half."

I sighed. "I love you, Kurt Hummel."

"I love you too, Blaine."

"No. I don't think you understand. I really fucking love you."

Kurt kissed me once more, with more meaning this time. Our lips parted and Kurt's hands dropped mine to cup my face gently. The kiss was soft and slow, with passion but more love than anything else.

"Well I love you more than Snape secretly loved Lily Potter. So there you go," Kurt whispered with his forehead resting against mine.

"You sneaky bastard, using my love of all things Potter against me."

"You know you love me," Kurt teased.

"Yeah. I do."

We kissed once more and went back to bed, hand in hand. Charlotte didn't wake once, which was a welcome surprise, and a comfort to us as we managed to drift off.

I didn't expect to have nightmares of my own, though.

Xxx

"Blaine!"

"_Why would you apologise now? What the hell made you come to this decision?"_

"_My dad died, okay? He died. He was a sour, disgusting man. I hated him. And when he died and I was at his funeral I couldn't help but think that that's what I was going to be. I didn't want to be that person and despite all the shit I've put everyone through I think I deserve a second chance."_

"…Blaine?"

"_Your sister and two other girls were unconscious, lying on the pool table... the men, I guess they're Dad's friends, were stabbing their cigarette butts into their arms and betting on which one would—" _

"_Would what, Josh?"_

"_...which one would scream the most..."_

"BLAINE!"

I felt strong, forceful hands shaking and shoving me until I opened my eyes. Kurt, Dad and Donovan were hovering over me, Charlotte clutching Kurt's leg as if it were a lifeline.

I rubbed my eyes and sat up slowly. "What happened?" I tried to feign oblivion, knowing that if I were to reveal what my dreams entailed it could upset Charlotte.

"Nightmare, son," Dad said, clapping a hand to my shoulder with a worried look. "You wanna talk about it?"

I gave him a quick look, hoping he'd understand what I was actually trying to say. "Nah, but can I talk to you in the hall for a sec? It's about this Dalton retreat thing…" I made a point of emphasising the words 'talk' and 'hall' in the hope that he'd get the message.

He did.

"Sure. Hey Don, sit with Kurt and Char for me?"

"Sure, Dad," Donovan said, throwing a worried look my way before hoisting Charlotte up onto his shoulder and hugging her. I saw the briefest smile on Char's face and knew she'd eventually be okay, but for the time being I needed to sort out the whole Josh issue –and make sure he got his comeuppance for what he'd done to my sister.

Dad shut the door behind him and as I was about to speak, he put a hand on my shoulder.

"Not here, they could still hear us. Let's go to my study, hey?"

Dad's voice was warm and comforting, softer than I'd ever heard him speak before. He was usually so gruff and –for lack of a better word- manly. It was unusual seeing this gentle side of him, but I supposed that was inevitable when something as serious as this happens.

I followed Dad into his study and sat in the leather chair he pointed me towards. He shut the door of his study and sat across from me, behind his desk, and clasped his hands together as if he were ready for a round of shop talk.

"What is it, son?"

"Well, I'm assuming you've been told that it was the father of my ex, Josh, who… who did that to Char?"

Dad nodded, lips pressed together into a thin line and whitening from the pressure.

"Josh had come to Dalton not too long before then and… he made a point of saying that his father had died."

Dad's face was almost translucent in a matter of seconds. His hands moved to grip the edge of his desk and his expression hardened.

"You're sure of this?"

"Well I don't know if anything he says is true," I said truthfully, "He's a liar. I know that much."

"The police should know that though, right?" Dad asked.

"Well, they should, given they're the freaking police. That doesn't explain why Josh himself isn't in prison right now."

"You think he should be?"

"Well if it wasn't his father, he certainly gave me a lot of visuals to think about. He's not that creative, Dad, so I'm assuming there's some truth in that."

Dad was silent for a few seconds, before taking a few deep breaths and finally looking up at me.

"I'm proud of you, Blaine. You love your sister so much, you'd do anything for her."

"Of course. She's my honeybee."

The smallest of smiles played on Dad's lips before he remembered what he was thinking just a few seconds prior. He stood and tied his dressing gown before gesturing towards the door.

"You don't mind, do you? I have a few calls to make."

I knew he was going to call the cops and give them a piece of his mind, so I just nodded and let myself out. I trudged down the hall and re-entered Charlotte's room to find a massive pillow-fight happening.

"What's going on in here?" I laughed in spite of myself and the conversation I'd just been part of.

"PILLOW FIGHT!" Kurt and Charlotte screamed before Donovan tossed a pillow at me.

"Defend yourself, bro!" he yelled, before hitting Charlotte gently with his pillow, but still hard enough to knock a little wind out of her.

"Bring it!"

xxxx

Lunch that day consisted of various cops questioning Charlotte and each one of us for as much information as we could give. I felt good knowing that _something _was happening, but I knew I wouldn't feel satisfied until Josh was locked up.

Once the cops left, and we were finally able to eat our chicken and celery sandwiches so lovingly made by Kurt and Mom, Kurt took me into the hall.

"I have some bad news," he said, reaching for my hands.

"Oh god, what?" I said, immediately thinking the worst.

"Calm down, it's nothing, I just… I have to go home."

I suddenly felt so guilty for keeping Kurt with me for so long. I'd been excused from school, and so had he after he stormed the head of year's office. But to keep him from Burt and Carole and Finn was really selfish.

"Of course, you should've been home a lot sooner."

"Shh, I wanted to be here," Kurt said, pressing small kisses to my cheeks and to the tip of my nose.

"I know, but still… it was selfish of me to ask you in the first place."

"Oh shut up, you're being irrational. I wouldn't have stayed if it weren't the right thing to do."

"I suppose you're right… When are you leaving?" I asked, resigned.

"Tonight, after dinner. I'm taking you out, by the way."

My mouth fell open. "You're taking me out?"

"Yup," Kurt nodded enthusiastically.

"Why?"

"Blaine. We haven't had a date in a long time, and now that Charlotte's home, we need to get out and do something."

"But I-"

"Shut up. We're going out."

"Okay."

Kurt kissed me once more before leading me back into the dining room to join the others.

"Why do you look so red, Blaine?" Charlotte asked.

I grinned. "I just have the best boyfriend in the world, that's all."

_**Okay, so I don't know whether to be hurt and confused or thankful that only two or three of you actually realised that YES, JOSH'S DAD IS DEAD.**_

_**Lalalala, I like foreshadowing. And yeah, that's one of the very few plot lines I had planned from the start. **_

_**You'll also recognise more foreshadowy bits as we go on. That's not a real word, but it is now.**_

_**I love you all, thank you for your reviews and support. Please keep it up, if you like me. Or not. Even if you hate me for torturing Charlotte, please review. It's nice. And keeps me writing. And oh, I'm currently on 192 reviews, which means it's only 8 til I have to record KurtieBear CuddleTime and put it online. Thereyago.**_

_**I also started another multi-chap fic. It's called Letters, and it's here on too. It'll be quite different from Seven. It won't be in the same verse at all. And it won't contain smut, I've decided. Just a lot of fluff and angst and emotions and drama. I want something that my friends can read at school and not judge me for :P but also, I get some people saying that they skip over the smut in Seven a bit because they like the characters and the writing, just not the smut. So there you go. I hope you all like the start of it. So go read and review that one too!**_

_**I'll be writing for both. I'm on holidays very soon (: **_

_**Sadly, I think Seven may be coming to a close within the next 5 chapters. Depends on how long it takes to finish this storyline. I may do a sequel, I don't know. Thoughts?**_

_**Sorry for the hideously long author's note. I love you all, and thankyou for everything! x**_


	38. Chapter 38

_**HOLY CRAP.**_

_**YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING.**_

_**So I'm over 200 reviews – I know, I know, the video is coming! I'm in the editing stages right now so I'm not posting another chapter of Seven until it's up and I can link you all to **_**KurtieBear CuddleTime**_**. I'm also trying to perfect my rapping voice, so bear with me.**_

_**Thank you for all of your kind words and support through the whole thing. I'm still quite surprised you guys didn't quite cotton onto the whole Josh's dad issue, but I hope you can read the rest and look back for any possible foreshadowing! **_

_**Also, I'm going to dedicate this to all of my lovelies on tumblr, who have put this fic on their fic recommendation lists. I'm honoured and I don't deserve any of that!**_

_**Enjoy! And please tell me what you think, this chapter's a bit weird.**_

_**I love you all!**_

_**xxx**_

It was weird without Kurt for the first few days. I'd grown so accustomed to his constant presence that I felt somewhat cold without him. My hand was always empty, save for the moments where Charlotte would see me and run up to me, taking my hand in hers and dragging me towards the piano for another song from the _Legally Blonde_ musical.

Kurt and I were rapidly texting throughout the day. I was still excused from school, but since Kurt had returned to his duties at home he was deemed fit to go back to school. He obviously wasn't getting much work done, since he'd sent me texts such as **"Shakespeare didn't care this much about Macbeth, surely!" **and **"Sitting in French. All I can think of is **_**Lady Marmalade**_**."**

It was soothing in a way, to have Kurt constantly with me even if he wasn't physically by my side. My family was extremely supportive, too: they knew how much Kurt meant to me, so they were always smirking and whispering whenever my phone would buzz and I'd respond in less than fifteen seconds.

Charlotte had taken up the habit of talking on the phone quite a bit. Being as young as she was, she wasn't allowed to have a cell phone (despite all the other trampy tweens having Blackberrys) so she was constantly hogging the landline. I didn't know who she was talking to – everytime I'd ask, she'd say 'somebody' and then storm off to her room and slam the door. It was getting a little suspicious, but given her bubbly moods and her returning personality, we let her do her thing.

The time away from Kurt was good, in a way, because I was finally able to get in touch with Mercedes and begin to organise something special for Kurt's birthday. We began texting each other, saving each other's number under different names, just in case Kurt would see and become suspicious. It had been a week and a half since Kurt had returned home, and his birthday was the following Friday. We needed to get everything sorted as soon as possible.

Mercedes and the rest of New Directions had thought a surprise party would be a good idea, though I quickly pointed out that Kurt would be furious having to get dressed for an event he had no idea about. The original plan of putting on a show and then partying at Rachel's was scrapped, and we struggled to think of how we could make anything else work. Then, Brittany (of all people) thought that the girls should take him shopping, make him buy an outfit appropriate for the night (after all, Mercedes would be there to help) and then bring him back to the Hummel-Hudson house where we'd all be lingering in the garage, ready to surprise him with a kickass party. Finn and Puck would have decorated the place to the best of their ability (I'm sure Rachel would have some input, being Rachel) and I was in charge of entertainment –I'd been communicating with the Warblers via email and was organising a surprise performance in Kurt's honour. We were all so proud of every aspect our plan, and we all knew that after he'd finished punishing us for the initial shock, Kurt would love it.

My latest text conversation with Mercedes was amusing. She'd started using code words and abbreviations so much so that it became increasingly difficult to understand what on earth she was trying to say.

**From: MooMoo  
>To: BigBear<strong>

**BigBear. The K's EV. Rapidly C'ing 2gether. Have PWar conf 2 lalala during WOOO?**

**From: BigBear**

**To: MooMoo**

…**what?**

**From: MooMoo**

**To: BigBear**

**Sigh. Blaine, Kurt's event (party) is rapidly coming together. Have Pavarotti II and the Warblers confirmed to sing during the party?**

**From: BigBear**

**To: MooMoo**

**Oh. Makes more sense now. Yeah, everything's good. Why didn't you just say it like that last time?**

**From: MooMoo  
>To: BigBear<strong>

**Shut it, white boy. Talk later. Xx**

Everytime Mercedes and I would talk with the intent to further the organisation of the party, we'd end up laughing. She was honestly my favourite of Kurt's McKinley friends, aside from Finn, and I got on so well with her. Our mutual love of Kurt was probably the main reason for us hitting it off so well, or so I thought, until Mercedes revealed one day that she was just so taken aback by how well I've treated Kurt. I told her the truth: that I didn't think I'd done anything out of the ordinary. She sent me a text saying thankyou for everything I've done for Kurt, and though I still thought I was just being a normal boyfriend, I smiled and accepted the compliment graciously – it's not often that you get the approval of your diva-licious boyfriend's equally diva-licious best friend.

Kurt's party was coming together well. Given how Kurt had been there for Charlotte and I, and the entire family during Charlotte's ordeal, Mom and Dad offered to pay for catering and to hire a limo to take Kurt shopping in. It was a very generous offer, and I knew Kurt deserved it, so I accepted with a wide smile and overly affectionate hugs for the both of them. Kurt's birthday was going to be amazing – the best birthday of his life.

xxxx

"Blaine, I haven't seen you in ages!" Kurt whined the minute I'd answered his phone call, grinning.

"Baby, it's only been a week and a half."

"Still! I miss you! I went from sleeping in the your bed every night to sleeping by myself with Finn farting every five minutes down the hall."

"Ooh, that sounds lovely," I sympathised – growing up with Dylan meant there was no shortage of disgusting smells.

"Shut up. I just want to come over and be with you."

"I know, me too. I miss you too."

"Do you?"

"Are you kidding me, Kurt Hummel? Of course I miss you!"

"Just checking," Kurt said, a hint of mockery in his voice.

"You're mean," I whined.

"You love me. Anyway, when are you coming back to school?"

"Monday," I said truthfully, secretly thankful to go back to school yet anxious to leave Charlotte behind as I go back to boarding.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"Yes!" I laughed, "Dead serious. I'll be back on Monday, on time for our coffee date at seven."

"I'm so excited, it's not funny."

"Well, it'll be good to be with you again, that's for sure."

"And Charlotte's ready for that?"

"I guess she is, but we'll have to wait and see. I'll have my phone with me, so she wants me to come home for the night, I can always do that."

"Mmm…."

"What?"

"Just- Charlotte's really lucky to have you as a brother. You really care about her."

"Of course, she's my sister."

"And you are the best man in the world. Holy crap, how on _earth_ did I snag you as my boyfriend?"

"I don't know, you're just that lucky," I teased, before joking with Kurt for a few more minutes and eventually hanging up.

No sooner had I pressed the red button had Charlotte bounced up towards me and hugged me tightly. I returned the hug, ecstatic to see her positive energy slowly returning, and listened as she withdrew herself from the hug and began speaking at a million words a minute.

"So Blaine, Kurt's birthday's coming up, isn't it? I really want to get him something so what should I get him? I mean, I know he's interested in fashion but he's also interested in music and theatre and glee and of course he's interested in you so there are just so many things I could get him!"

"Charlotte, honey, breathe!"

"No time!" she gasped, "I need to get Kurt a gift!"

"Honeybee, why are you so desperate to give him a gift?"

"Because he's perfect for you, Blaine!" Charlotte blurted. "You love him and he loves you and you're just so perfect together! You're going to married one day, I just know it, and he's like another brother to me so I want to show him that I love him too and I want to say thankyou for everything he's done for you and for me too!"

I crouched down, beaming at everything Charlotte had just said. Of course, I'd know that Charlotte and Kurt did have a good relationship, it was still surprising to have my sister say such amazing things about my boyfriend.

"Char, Kurt will love anything you decide to give him."

"I don't want to give him just anything, Blaine. I want to give him something _special_."

"Well… just think about everything he loves and find gifts that relate to that."

Charlotte stared off into the distance for a while, before snapping her head up and looking proud of herself.

"I've got it!" she said, turning to sprint down the hall before stopping in her place and turning back to me.

"Oh, Blaine?"

"Yeah?" I responded, standing.

"Don't forget, the night of Kurt's party is also your six-month anniversary!"

I smiled. "Thanks, Char!"

As Charlotte ran back to her room excitedly, I immediately began stressing over how to make the night even more special for Kurt. I knew we'd be hitting six months soon – we'd been dating for a couple of months before the Charlotte scandal, and then a few months in between – but I guess it just didn't completely register that our anniversary was the same night as the party. Mercedes couldn't have known the exact date of our anniversary, and given that she'd chosen the date, it wasn't planned.

Now I just had to think of a way to truly express how thankful I was to have Kurt in my life. He'd been nothing short of the perfect boyfriend and the most amazing best friend. Though we'd still have to deal with the remainder of Charlotte's ordeal I just knew that he'd be there for me no matter would, as I would be for him. One date night couldn't do it, especially given that it was on the same day as his party.

I loved him more than anything. He was my everything.

And I knew just how to show him that.


	39. Chapter 39

_**Don't hate me.**_

_**Okay. So I didn't end up doing a VIDEO. And I blame my busy life as a student for that. But I did record the song, so now you lovelies can listen to KurtieBear CuddleTime the way it was meant to be listened to and if you want to download it, go for it. Put it on your iPods. Share it with your biffles. **_

_**I am so sorry it's taken so long. I appreciate that many of you would be rather upset with me. To show you just how sorry I am, I'm gonna upload at least two chapters this week.**_

_**Oh! I suppose you want the link to the song? Enjoy! thelittleactor(DOT)tumblr(DOT)com /post/11861925633/here-it-is-ladies-and-gentlemen-kurtiebear **_

_**Remove the DOT's and put real .'s in there. And yupppp. I hope you like it. And find it funny. I really hope you do.**_

_**Again, so sorry for the late update. But I love you all and appreciate your support so much, so please, do keep it coming.**_

About a week or so later, I noticed that the date of Kurt's party was looming, thus so was our anniversary. Six months isn't usually something people celebrate that often – or maybe it is, I wasn't too sure – but I wanted to make it special.

But to make it as special as I'd hoped, I had to make a call to one Burt Hummel.

Xxxx

I also had to make a call to Mercedes. I was most nervous about this phone call, given that I was about to make some rather extravagant changes to the current plan. I had a feeling, though, that once I explained, she'd go for it.

She didn't seem to mind that I gave the florist her address for deliveries.

Xxxx

I made a number of other calls, too, to Finn, Puck, Mike, Rachel, Tina and Quinn, just to make sure they were okay with the changes and with my plan in general. They were. Finn was confused as to why we couldn't just watch the football game on television whilst Rachel was trying to convince me that a Barbra Streisand medley was required.

Those phone calls ended far more quickly than I'd anticipated.

Xxxx

Next, I – gulp – made my way to McKinley to meet up with Brittany and Santana and the ever-terrifying Coach Sylvester. While I'm sure I left with every bit of my masculinity ripped to shreds and blended with her protein shakes, it went relatively well.

Quite well, in fact. The Cheerios were on board.

Xxxx

After a day of making phone calls and wetting my pants in front of the scariest lady known to humankind, I finally leant back on the sofa in the living room when my phone started buzzing. Annoyed, I dug into my pocket to find it and answered without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Blaine. Get your ass down to this hospital now, you're about to be an uncle."

"On my way."

Xxxx

It only took 47.5 hours before my beautiful niece, Joy Charlotte Anderson, was brought into the world. The entire Anderson family was by Katherine's side the minute Joy was all cleaned up, and we were all cooing over how Dylan and Katherine leapt right into parent mode without any hesitation. Dyl's lack of diaper-changing knowledge proved to be hilarious, especially when mother dearest had to step in, but for the most part, we all marvelled over little Joy, only one week premature.

Charlotte became enamoured with her baby niece, and rejoiced over the sentiment attached to Joy's middle name. Dyl and Katherine said it was inevitable, but Charlotte was so touched that she spent most of the time at the hospital sobbing happily.

I'd sent Kurt a text the minute I'd gotten the call. I wasn't expecting him to show up with a giant bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates and an adorable pink onesie.

"Kurt!" I exclaimed in surprise as he entered the tiny, beige hospital room.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," he said, stepping in tentatively.

"Nonsense," Katherine waved him in. "You brought chocolate."

We all laughed.

Kurt and I stood together, arms linked, until it was my turn to hold Joy once again. Kurt leant his head against my shoulder and stroked Joy's cheek. A small, tiny hand emerged from the top of the swaddled blanket and wrapped itself around Kurt's pointer finger.

"I think she likes you," Dyl said.

Kurt and I looked at one another. It was then I knew for certain that one day we'd be in the exact same position, but with a child of our very own.

Xxxx

We left the hospital, Kurt to go back to Lima and the other Andersons and I to recuperate at home before visiting Joy again the next day. It was perfect, as I had many more calls to make to the catering company, the decoration store, the florist (to make sure hydrangeas were nowhere to be found) and to a certain store renowned for its pretty blue bags.

Xxxx

I sat down that night, overwhelmed by the emotion of becoming an uncle, seeing my niece for the first time, seeing my brother as a real husband and father, and of having that lightbulb moment in my own relationship.

My pen found its way to an old notepad and I began to write.

Lyrics, notes, lists, speeches, and just one another thing I needed to get right.

Xxxx

_**Sorry about the shortness of the chapter. I felt like it needed to be short. Let me know what you think. I wanted to show you rather than tell you what was going on, so I hope I achieved that. Again, let me know!**_

_**I love you all, thank you so much for everything.**_

_**Don't forget to listen to the song and let me know what you think about that too!**_

_**xx**_


	40. Chapter 40

**The week of the party.**

**Countdown: 6 days to go.**

I needed to make sure everything was in place. Sure, I'd made a thousand phone calls and had spent countless hours doing just that. But you could never tell if things would turn out the way they had been planned, and for me, anything short of flawless wouldn't cut it.

Kurt began to notice certain little things, one at a time, causing him to hint at what he was getting from me for his birthday. Everytime I shrugged him off with a "I don't know, we'll have to see" but it was a close call when he nearly stumbled across my receipt from Tiffany & Co.

Charlotte had made her gift to Kurt in record time. I knew she was up to something when her room was clunking and clattering away with some heavy Kate Miller-Heidke background music (continuing her fascination with Australian artists… that girl… sigh). It wasn't until she emerged from her room the very next day looking like she hadn't slept that I noticed the trouble she'd gone to. With such exquisite detail and sentiment behind it, I knew Kurt would love his gift from her.

My parents also decided to present Kurt with a gift - a shiny day spa/resort voucher for a weekend stay, complete with facials and massages. Bingo. My mother was a smart one, indeed.

With just six days to go, I was a mess. Somehow finishing my exams and assignments (I don't know how, I think coffee was involved), I managed to finalise most of the details for the party. The one thing that I hadn't even come close to finishing was the speech I was writing to Kurt.

It was only fitting that I say something to thank him for his beautiful heart and for generously sharing it with not only me, but the other Andersons too, especially in the face of hardship. I had a million things to write down to say just how much I loved him and appreciated him, but when it came to putting pen to paper, I faltered.

I didn't know what was wrong with me, so I'd always shut down my laptop and move away with the promise of an hour's break before a long writing session.

I still didn't get it done.

**5 days to go.**

School was… tolerable, to say the least, though it was made slightly more bearable having Kurt by my side. Though he was especially interested in my plans for the weekend - questions to which I responded with a "playing with Joy" - and it was fairly obvious that he desperately wanted to know what was going on.

"Come on, Blaine, tell me!"

"Tell you what? I'm only playing with Joy this weekend, Kurt."

"Don't play games with me, Anderson. It's my birthday and you love me and you've got something planned, haven't you?"

"…I don't know. Do I?"

Kurt groaned and threw his arms up in the air.

"At least tell me what the dècor of the restaurant is like, I need my outfit to be fabulous!"

There it was. The real reason behind the pestering.

"Wear whatever," I said, kissing him softly on the lips, then on the forehead, before smiling and walking away. "You'll look amazing, no matter what!" I yelled over my shoulder, refusing to look back for a response from Kurt.

Later that night, while I was in my dorm room studying, I received a text message from Mom.

**B, are you free to talk or are you studying? **

I replied: **Studying, but can talk too. What's up?**

Instead of receiving another reply, my phone began ringing. I answered without hesitation, keen to hear my mother's voice and find out what was going on.

"Mom?"

"Hey, how are you?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. What's up?"

"We just wanted to let you know that we had a call from the police department today."

My heart began sinking. Despite knowing that Charlotte was okay and would be fine once she fully assimilated back into her old life, it still hurt knowing that there was this scary part of her life we knew nothing about.

"…and?"

"They arrested your ex after finding camera footage from his house."

"…what kind of footage?"

Mom sighed and paused… "The kind that we don't want to even think about. But what's done is done. He's got his. He's going to court and they have too much evidence against him. Witness accounts from all eight girls he had hidden away and from his buddies who were there at the time while he was bragging."

"That son of a b-"

"Blaine, there's no use getting upset about it now," she cut me off. "Concentrate on the positives. He's gone, he'll be punished, Char's safe, and there's a beautiful new Anderson in the family. Not to mention the prospective addition of another one…"

"Mom! Don't say that too loud!"

"Fine, fine! Anyway, I have to go, I just wanted to call you to update you."

"Fair enough. I love you, Mom."

"I love you too."

We said our goodbyes and hung up the phone before I promptly sent Kurt text messages with all the information I'd just received. Kurt responded, just as appalled as I was. _He really does care, _ I thought to myself, suddenly finding myself worrying about the party yet again - so much so that I couldn't study any longer and focussed on getting this speech written.

**4 days to go.**

Mercedes and I spent the entire time emailing each other on our smartphones - Kurt had become too suspicious of texting, it seemed, so I had made plenty of trips to the bathroom to respond to Mercedes. Everything was in place.

It was going to be great.

**3 days to go.**

Having the Warblers prepare a song for Kurt was hard while Kurt was IN the Warblers, but somehow, they made it work. They'd been having secret extra practices while I took Kurt out for our coffee dates at seven, both in the morning and in the afternoon. They sent me a video of the song they'd finally perfected, which I watched in the privacy of my dorm. It was amazing. Kurt would love it.

I continued my feeble attempts at finishing my speech for Kurt, but with the words of Finn Hudson and Burt Hummel in the back of my mind, it all just seemed impossible. So I put it off again, knowing that I'd regret it. And I did.

**2 days to go.**

Mercedes, Rachel and Burt were constantly texting me. It appeared as though the florist had sent too many flowers to the wrong places and mixed up all the orders and deliveries. Thankfully, Kurt was busy with a Shakespeare assignment in the Dalton library and had told me not to interrupt him, so it was easy to communicate with the three.

My own family were constantly contacting me too, with my other siblings demanding present ideas. I told them they weren't expected to give gifts and they sent replies with a general "piss off" underlying message and told me they'd do it anyway. Sometimes, you just gotta love my family.

The music, decorations, guests, food… everything was finally covered.

Finally.

Kurt was going to have an amazing birthday.

**1 day to go.**

I kept trying to write exactly how I felt but somehow the words just wouldn't put themselves together. It was a frustrating process, knowing what you want to write but not knowing how. I'd experienced this so many times with songwriting, but this was so much more important and significant. If I messed it up, there was no going back.

**Kurt's birthday.**

I woke up at 5am on Saturday, the day of Kurt's birthday. I quickly showered and changed and loaded up my car before driving the long route to Lima, making a pit stop at the Lima Bean on the way. I slowly pulled up to Kurt's house, coffees in hand, at precisely 6:57am. Carole, who had been forewarned, let me in and ushered me upstairs to Kurt's room. I waited to hear his clock tick over to 7:00am before knocking gently on his door and walking in. He stirred as I spoke, saying, "Happy birthday, baby," and he eventually turned to face me. He opened his eyes, blinked, and then looked up in shock.

"Is that-?"

"Coffee at seven, just for you, Kurt."

I walked over and gently sat on the edge of his bed. I passed him his coffee and leant back with my own, wrapping my arm around him.

"Is this the big surprise?" he asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Yup," I lied. "And you are dressed perfectly."

I gave him a quick kiss before saying one more happy birthday. We spent the morning lying in bed, eventually eating the grand breakfast Carole had prepared for the birthday boy. It came around to midday and we heard the doorbell ring. It was Mercedes and Tina, right on cue, here to whisk Kurt away to an afternoon of shopping.

I thanked them both with a secret head nod behind Kurt's back before ushering them all out the door. As she exited, Mercedes planted her house key in my jeans pocket and winked at me. I snorted, but Kurt didn't notice and just continued with his "OH MY GOD IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING?" spiels.

I rushed upstairs to get Finn and we sprinted out of the house and sped to Mercedes' place to ensure everything was set up. The guests started arriving an hour early, as expected. Everyone in Kurt's circle of friendship (and family) were there to support him. Some teachers from McKinley had even made the effort to come, with Emma Pillsbury baking a 'germ-free cake', or so she said.

I changed into a slightly more dapper outfit - a tux. Everyone was dressed up to the nines, and glasses of champagne were being handed out like it was an awards show. Nevermind the underage drinking, tonight was Kurt's night.

We all hid in the rec room, which was basically the basement of the house. We heard the girls and Kurt returning, so we all quietened down and listened as Kurt was being persuaded to change into HIS brand new tux. You could hear his protests -classic Kurt- and his outbursts of joy at the girls' dresses before we heard them ushering Kurt downstairs, claiming they had a full-length mirror down here. It was dark, and we were all hiding, up until the moment that the light was flicked on and we all yelled "Surprise".

Kurt's face was like a flip book of emotion - it appeared as though he didn't know what to feel next. He hugged and kissed almost everyone there before finally making his way to me.

"Did you plan this, mister?"

"I may have had some part in this, yes."

"I love you. Thank you so much. I don't deserve this."

"You're wrong. You really, really do."

Presents were shared, cake was cut and Burt made a heartfelt speech about his baby boy growing up before Kurt took the spotlight once again and thanked everyone for coming in a speech of his own. I interjected.

"Actually, Kurt, before you finish, I'd like to say something to you, in front of this whole group."

Kurt looked confused, but gestured for me to continue.

"Kurt Hummel…" I stammered, stuttered, and choked. I cleared my throat and tried to continue.

"I tried writing this all down but I failed so badly, so I'm just going to have to say this from the heart, on the spot.

Kurt Hummel. There is not a day I do not thank every single possible higher being for your existence in this world and in my heart.

From the minute you walked into my life, you have been nothing short of amazing. You've inspired me with your strength, courage, and most of all, your everything.

Becoming friends with you was a fluke, but it was one that I couldn't regret in a million years. You have become my everything, my counterpart, and for that, I thank you.

You were there for me in a time where nothing really made sense to me. I began to lose it, but you stuck by me. And you showed your generosity when you shared your everything with everyone in my family, too.

I can't say it any other way, so I'll just have to repeat it over and over again. I love you. I love you, Kurt. I love everything you are and everything you love and everything you do. I would do anything for you. You are my everything, now."

I could hear many people sniffling in the background, and I saw in my peripheral vision that Puck was blowing into a tissue. Carole and Burt were clinging onto one another while the entire Anderson clan was clumped together, holding hands.

I dropped to my knee.

Kurt gasped.

"Kurt Hummel. I can't stand here - or kneel here, I guess - and promise to give you the world. I'm only one man, and if I've learned anything, it's that nothing can be guaranteed. But I will stand here and promise to you that I will try. You have given me so much more than I'd ever imagined one person could give. I love you. I love your eyes, and that sometimes I get lost just staring at them. I love your freckles, and how much you hate it when I point out each one because you don't believe me when I say they're beautiful. I love your hand, and the way it seems to have mine memorised. I love your voice, and how pure it is all the time. But most of all, I love you, one in all.

I'm not going to propose marriage right here and now. We're still in high school and we've got -"

I hesitated, and looked around very quickly.

"Fuck it," I said, "and I don't care that I just swore really badly in the middle of what was meant to be a sweet speech.

I'm proposing."

I pulled out the little baby blue box I'd had tucked away in my pocket and leant forward to take Kurt's hand in mine. I started crying myself, breath hitching, tears streaming, and Kurt was the same.

"Kurt. Will you… please… do me the honour… of one day, becoming my husband?"

The room was silent, save for the sounds of people crying or stifling sobs.

Kurt pulled me up to his eye level, kissing me deeply but not for too long. He took a step back and looked at me sadly.

"No."


	41. Chapter 41

_"Kurt. Will you… please… do me the honour… of one day, becoming my husband?"_

_"No."_

All eyes were on us. The silence was so intense - the slightest shift of fabric could break it. I stood there, blue box in hand, not knowing how to move on from that point. My mind kept repeating the same thoughts, over and over: _Do I say something? Do I just walk away? How am I supposed to react to this? _

"Blaine…" Kurt whispered, forcing me to look at him as best I could through the blurry, tear-ridden, puffy eyes I now had.

I could feel everyone looking at me to say something or do something.

"I'm going to get some air," I said quietly, slowly standing up and snapping shut the blue box before shoving it into Kurt's hand and sprinting outside. My tie felt like it was choking me, I felt the strong urge to throw up from the flipping sensation in my stomach. I unbuttoned my shirt and threw my tie away, shrugging my jacket off and just dropping it on the grass of Mercedes' front lawn. I kept walking until I reached my car, sitting underneath the giant fig tree, and sat on the bonnet. My head just fell into my hands and I couldn't control the sobbing or hyperventilating.

I heard the distant sound of a screen door slam and fast-paced footsteps coming towards me, but I paid no attention. _To hell with people thinking I'm pathetic, looking like this, _I thought.

"Blaine!"

I ignored the voice.

"Blaine! Hey!"

It was Finn.

"Blaine, come on, look at me."

I sniffed, wiped my eyes with my sleeve and turned to look at Finn, who was now standing right in front of me looking concerned, yet unsure of how to act.

"Look, man. I know… uh, this is weird. Uh. I know this is hard for you…"

"Do you?" I snapped back, not even concerning myself with just how Finn was feeling.

"Yeah! I do! I may not have ever… proposed to someone before… but I know what it's like being rejected by the person you love."

He had a point there. Damn that Rachel.

"What are trying to say, Finn? I'm very busy drowning my sorrows in silence, if you don't mind." I turned to stare at my shoes, not wanting Finn to see me start to cry again.

"Come off it, man. You know Kurt loves you."

"Well, why'd he say no like that? In front of everybody?"

"…I can't tell you that."

Though I'd been staring at my shoes for good reason, I couldn't help but look at Finn.

"…You know? You know why he just rejected me?"

Finn shifted in his place, digging his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah," he said. "He just told me before I came out here to find you."

I didn't say anything.

"I can't tell you," Finn said.

Again. Silence.

"It's for him to tell you in person."

"Well forgive me for not really wanting to face him right now!" I couldn't help it. The tears began falling again, streaming even more so this time. I thought about how much water my body was losing through all this excessive crying and laughed internally about how pathetic I was.

Finn moved awkwardly to sit on the bonnet next to me.

"Kurt's my brother. Sure… step-brother… but still. I love him…"

"I know, Finn."

"You're right for him, Blaine. You and him… you both fit."

"Try telling him that. Obviously he doesn't agree."

"You need to talk to him about that."

"What's the use in talking? He just said no!"

"Blaine… just… you need to talk to him."

"I don't feel like it."

"Blaine -"

"No, Finn! The love of my life just said no after I proposed to him! And as cliché as that term sounds, it's true. He is the love of my life. Even now that he's said no, I feel like I should hate him for making me so damned unhappy, but I can't! Because I love him! I love him so much! I miss him even when he's in a different room and I miss him right now but I can't bear to see him because I just know that when I do, I'll lose it. I won't be able to take control of myself long enough to bear knowing that he's rejected me. I love him too much to face him, Finn."

Finn sat there, shocked at how fast that came out. It took him a few moments to register before he responded.

"Look… I know I'm not one of your Dalton buddies. We barely talk unless it's about food or football. I always thought that I shouldn't overstep the boundaries and get close with you so that Kurt could have you all to himself. But… I do care about you, Blaine. I feel like we could be friends. Kind of. I mean, we have glee in common. Just trust me."

"Thanks Finn. I… thanks."

Finn clapped me on the back before rethinking it and then pulling me in for a hug. A bro-hug, nonetheless.

"Come inside with me," he said, taking my hand and pulling me off the bonnet.

"What, so I can embarass myself further?"

"No, but you've got to talk to your family about who you're taking home, right? Didn't Charlotte and Donovan come in a cab?"

Finn had a point. I begrudgingly walked back inside, picking up my suit jacket and my tie along the way. The house was still eerily quiet. Finn put one hand on my back and gestured for me to enter first, and as I made my way back into the rec room and opened the door, I was shocked by the sight in front of me.

Kurt was on one knee, wearing the ring I'd given him with a black box of his own open in his hand. He looked up at me expectantly, looking worried and nervous.

"Kurt, what is this?" I asked, hesitantly stepping forward.

"Shut up, you've made your speech, now let me make mine."

Finn pushed me forward so that I was now standing directly in front of Kurt.

"Blaine Anderson. You are my other half. You are everything that makes me smile when I wake up in the morning. You are the spring in my step. You are the inspiration to my every performance. You are the reason that I'm still here, alive and smiling, today.

I had a speech prepared. I did. But then you had to go and ruin it by interrupting me and proposing first. You of all people should know I like the spotlight. AND you basically ruined the whole premise of my speech, because I was going to outline to you everything I loved about you.

So now, I'm improvising.

Blaine. There are no words to describe how I felt that one day, meeting you on the staircase at Dalton. I was an intruder, an enemy or spy of sorts. Yet you somehow found that charming and were so welcoming towards me. It only took a second before I realised what kind of person you were. You took me for coffee, with a couple of your friends, before ushering them away and inviting me to spill all of my problems. And I did. I laid them out on the table, each and every one of them. It seems stupid, revealing everything that was wrong in my life to someone I'd only met ten minutes prior. But I did it. I somehow felt comfortable enough to do it.

Ever since that moment, I've felt this connection between us grow stronger and stronger. I thought I was insane, convincing myself that we were just friends until you finally asked me out. You made me so damned happy.

We have our silly routine of coffee at seven, and you know what? That makes me feel like I've got that beautiful romance usually only seen in really bad movies. I love that I can be myself around you and I love that you can do the same.

So before, when you proposed to me, firstly, I was shocked. But secondly, I knew I had to say no because I had to be the one to propose to you. You held my hand and walked me through every single step of the way, but I'm begging you to let me take the lead for once."

Kurt reached forward and took my left hand.

"Blaine Anderson. I stand here today, on my eighteenth birthday, in front of all my family and friends, to shamelessly confess how much I love you. Today, also being our anniversary, I felt like it was the perfect day to say this.

Today I turned eighteen. I've been alive eighteen years and yet all I can think is that I want the next eighteen and many more years to be spent waking up next to you and having coffee at seven.

I love you. I love you more than you could imagine. You are my everything.

Will you please, _please,_ marry me?"

I could hear the whisperings of our family and friends around us. Kurt's grip on my hand increased and I squeezed back, staring him down with an uncontrollable smile playing on my lips.

"Kurt Hummel, it'd be my honour."

The next few moments happened in this great big blur. Kurt slipped a ring on my finger and I looked down to see the silver band I'd bought him fitting perfectly on his. I pulled him up off the floor and pounced - our lips met and were crashing together with so much force and desperation, as if they were never meant to part. My arms wrapped themselves around Kurt's waist, not wanting to let go. The room was filled with applause, laughter and heartfelt sobs from everyone in the room, amongst cheers of "Congratulations!" and "Yay! Engaged!" When Kurt and I finally needed to pull back for some air, we were dragged in various directions by family members, all wanting to see our respective rings and to squeeze us tightly.

Everything was perfect. The rest of the party went off without a hitch. The Warblers sang for Kurt once more and the champagne just kept flowing. We didn't even notice when the party was winding down. Eventually, everyone had gone home and Kurt, Finn, Burt and I were the last people left - apart from Mercedes, who had begun cleaning up.

"I'm so proud of you two," Burt said gruffly, taking both Kurt and I in for a hug.

"Thanks Dad," Kurt said.

"Yeah, thanks Burt."

"Welcome to the family, Blaine!" Burt replied with a smile.

"I haven't married in yet!"

"You're as good as in. Listen, I thought… uh… well see, you'd both told me that you were going to propose-"

"You knew!" Kurt interjected. "We could have avoided Blaine's feelings getting hurt if you'd mentioned something! God!"

"Calm down, I didn't know you were both going to do it tonight! I knew Blaine was, I thought he was going to do it and you were just going to accept it and - oh, whatever. You're engaged. Congrats. Kurt, happy birthday. Enjoy."

Burt slipped an envelope into Kurt's hands before quickly walking away, taking Finn with him.

"What is it?"

Kurt opened the envelope one handed - we'd been holding hands since we'd gotten engaged and that wasn't about to change.

"It's a key card. To… a hotel room."

Kurt looked at me, confused.

"Is he… did he just give you a hotel room for the night?"

"I think he gave it to us… hang on, there's a note. 'Thought you two could have a night to yourselves. Love, Dad.' Well… that's interesting."

"And convenient," I said, pressing a kiss to Kurt's cheek.

"Well, looks like you matter just as much as I do, now."

"Huh?"

"Nevermind. Let's just go."

We called out to say thanks to Mercedes, promising to return the next day and help with cleanup. We sped to the hotel and settled into our room, just the two of us.

No matter what, we had each other. In that moment, and forever.

We made love that night, but somehow it was so much more than any other time we'd done it. This time, we knew we had all the time in the world. Because it was no longer Kurt and Blaine. It was Kurt and Blaine as one. We were the happiest people in the world.

And when we woke up the next morning, we just laid there in bed - fingers tracing the outlines of our rings, good morning kisses pressed to cheeks and temples. We could've stayed there forever, just us two.

Instead, we ordered room service and had coffee at seven.

_**There we go! That is the end of this hideously long and inconsistent fic! I must say, I'm not ridiculously proud of this, but I hope you all liked it. Thank you for all of your support over these past few months - I think I started this in April, so I'm so amazed that you guys have stuck around through the dramas of me writing this!**_

_**I have now finished school for the year! Year 11 is officially over and when I go back to school in January I will be a senior. That is insane.**_

_**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the fic. Please let me know what you thought with this final chapter. Also, provide your thoughts re: a sequel, too. I'm toying around with that idea. **_

_**In the meantime, now that I'm finished with school, I can concentrate on writing more. I'm going to be continuing the 'Letters' fic (in a completely different verse to this). **_

_**I love you all just as much as Blaine loves Kurt and Jeff loves KurtieBear CuddleTime. **_

_**By the way, how'd you all like that song? It's still up there on tumblr if you want it.**_

_**Much love and thanks FOR EVERYTHING.**_

_**x**_


	42. Introducing the Sequel!

_**Hello everyone,**_

_**it's been a while since this fic ended, but I'm here to tell you guys the first part of the sequel, 'A Lucky Number', is now up for your reading pleasure!**_

_**I hope you guys like it. I'm including the first paragraph here for you to get a taste of it. Again, thank you for all your support during the 41 chapters of Seven. I'm so lucky to have you all.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_**xx**_

_**thelittleactor**_

_**'A Lucky Number'**_

_**Prologue**_

Kurt was tired. Physically and emotionally exhausted. After four measly years studying musical theatre at his dream school, he'd gotten nowhere. Not one single audition had been 'it' for him. No matter how many auditions he went to or workshops he attended, he couldn't break into the industry. Rachel Berry did. Oh, she was fine. She left college halfway through to take on a role in the Broadway revival of _Godspell_ as one of Jesus' all-singing all-dancing followers. Even though they shared an apartment, Kurt could barely stand to be in the same room as her. Once she began talking about her day at work, Kurt's self-esteem sunk too low for him to even pretend to be happy for her. He'd always escape to the confines of his tiny, tiny room and sit on his bed, hoping, wishing and praying (just in case there was a god) that there'd be at least one opportunity for him.

The only thing helping him through was his other half, Blaine.

**You can read the rest of the prologue & the entire first chapter at fanfiction. net/ s/ 7674893/1/A_Lucky_Number. Just remove the spaces and you're good to go!**

**You can also find me on tumblr, through thelittleactorDOTtumblrDOTcom. **


End file.
